TAPE FOR COVERING GAP OF OPENING AND SHUTTING DOOR [Technical Field]

The present invention relates, in general, to a gap-covering tape for hinged doors and, more particularly, to a gap-covering tape for a hinged door, which adheres to an edge of the hinged door, thus elastically covering a gap between the hinged door and a doorframe or between hinged doors. [Background Art]

Generally, in the case of a hinged door installed at an entrance of a building or the like, a predetermined gap is formed between a doorframe and a floor. Thus, cool air or hot air may escape through the gap to the outside, entailing the loss of energy. Further, dust or the like may flow into the gap or body parts may be caught in the gap, thus causing an accident.

In order to solve the problems, various kinds of covering structures have been developed to seal the gap of a hinged door using a flexible member, such as a bellows plate.

However, such a conventional gap-covering structure for hinged doors can be applied to only a gap between a hinged door and a vertical portion of a doorframe. That is, the conventional gap-covering structure cannot be applied to gaps having various intervals, which may be defined between a hinged door and an upper portion of a doorframe, between hinged doors, or between a hinged door and a floor.

Moreover, the conventional gap-covering structure for hinged doors is problematic in that it is produced by assembling several parts with each other, so that the manufacturing cost of the gap-covering structure is relatively high, and the maintenance of the gap-covering structure is very difficult after the gap-covering structure has been mounted.

Meanwhile, a gap-covering tape for hinged doors was disclosed in Korean Patent Appln. No. 2005-0002399. As shown in FIG. 1, the gap-covering tape includes an elastic support member 20, ribs 40, and adhesive plates 10. The

elastic support member 20 has a semi-cylindrical shape, and defines elastic space 30 therein. The ribs 40 each having a predetermined axial length are radially arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the elastic support member 20. The adhesive plates 10 are provided on both outer ends of the elastic support member 20. An adhesive surface 11 is provided on one surface of each adhesive plate 10.

As such, the conventional gap-covering tape for hinged doors is mounted at a position corresponding to the size of a gap, thus adjusting the size of the elastic space 30. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the elastic support member 20 may be pressed against the floor or a doorframe and be widened in the width direction. Thereby, the conventional gap-covering tape is problematic in that each adhesive surface 11 may easily become detached from a hinged door 1, so that the gap-covering tape may lose its function.

As such, the adhesive surfaces 11 are detached from the hinged door 1 and the life span of the tape is thus shortened, because the pressing and widthwise widening of the elastic support member 20 directly affects the adhesive plates 10. [Disclosure] [Technical Problem]

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gap-covering tape for hinged doors, which blocks or absorbs the elastic deformation of an elastic support member to prevent elastic deformation from occurring to adhesive plates, that is, in which a main support plate or a bellows part blocks or absorbs the widthwise widening of the elastic support member so as to prevent the widthwise widening from being transmitted to the adhesive plate, thus preventing the adhesive surfaces of the adhesive plates from becoming detached from a hinged door, due to the elastic support member which is elastically deformed. [Technical Solution]

In order to accomplish the object, the present invention provides a

gap-covering tape for hinged doors having an elastic support member to define an elastic space therein; ribs radially provided on an outer circumferential surface of the elastic support member; and adhesive plates provided on opposite outer ends of the elastic support member and attached to a hinged door using adhesive surfaces, the gap-covering tape including a main support plate which is provided between the elastic support member and the adhesive plates and fixes a widthwise distance between the adhesive plates.

Further, the present invention provides a gap-covering tape for hinged doors having an elastic support member to define an elastic space therein; ribs radially provided on an outer circumferential surface of the elastic support member; and adhesive plates provided on opposite outer ends of the elastic support member and attached to a hinged door using adhesive surfaces, the gap-covering tape including a bellows part which is provided between the elastic support member and the adhesive plates and absorbs elastic deformation of the elastic support member. [Advantageous Effects]

As described above, a gap-covering tape of the present invention is capable of preventing adhesive surfaces of adhesive plates from becoming detached from a hinged door when the tape is in use, thus increasing the durability of the tape, and remarkably prolonging the useful lifespan of the tape. [Description of Drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional gap-covering tape for hinged doors;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the conventional gap-covering tape for hinged doors in use;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a gap-covering tape for hinged doors, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the gap-covering tape for hinged doors, according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a gap-covering tape for hinged

doors, according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6 to 9 are perspective views showing gap-covering tapes for hinged doors, according to further embodiments of the present invention; and

FIGS. 10 to 13 are views illustrating the use of the gap-covering tapes for hinged doors, according to respective embodiments of the present invention. [Mode for Invention]

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

According to an embodiment of this invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the gap-covering tape includes an elastic support member 20 made of a soft material and a main support plate 50. Elastic space 30 having a semi- cylindrical shape is defined between the elastic support member 20 and the main support plate 50. Adhesive plates 10 are provided on outer ends of the main support plate 50 in a width direction thereof. Ribs 40 radially protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the elastic support member 20.

In this case, the main support plate 50 is mounted to the edge of a hinged door while in close contact with the hinged door, thus maintaining durability. Particularly, even when the elastic support member 20 is deformed, that is, when it is pressed against a doorframe or a floor and its width is changed, the main support plate 50 blocks the deformation of the elastic support member so as to prevent the deformation from affecting the adhesive plates 10, thus preventing adhesive surfaces 11 of the adhesive plates 10 from becoming detached from the hinged door 1.

Further, the elastic support member 20 having the semi-cylindrical shape is made of soft synthetic resin, and has the elastic space 30 therein, so that the elastic support member 20 may be freely elastically deformed according to the application direction of external pressure.

Particularly, as shown in FIG. 4, assuming that the thickness of each of the adhesive plates 10 and the main support plate 50 is t, the elastic

support member 20 is constructed so that its lower portion has a thickness from 0.4t to 0.6t, its middle portion has a thickness from 0.6t to 0.8t, and its upper portion has a thickness from 0.8t to It.

In this case, the lower portion of the elastic support member 20 deforms the most, and is formed to have the smallest thickness, thus aiding in smooth elastic deformation of the elastic support member. The middle portion of the elastic support member is formed to be thicker than the lower portion thereof and to be thinner than the upper portion thereof. The upper portion of the elastic support member is formed to be thickest, so that the upper portion deforms the least, in comparison with the lower portion and the middle portion. Thereby, the elastic support member is pressed by a doorframe or a floor such that it forms a plane in its entirety. Therefore, the ribs 40, provided on the outer circumferential surface of the elastic support member, have a larger contact area when in contact with the floor.

Further, since the ribs 40 provided on the outer circumferential surface of the elastic support member 20 are made of soft synthetic resin, the ribs may be easily elastically bent.

In this case, each rib 40 has a thickness from 0.6t to 0.8t, which is the same as the middle portion of the elastic support member 20, so that the rib is elastically bent more easily than the upper portion of the elastic support member.

Further, contact surfaces 11 are provided on the lower surfaces of the adhesive plates 11, which are provided on the opposite outer ends of the main support plate 50. Using the contact surfaces 11, the gap-covering tape is attached to the hinged door.

According to another embodiment of this invention, as shown in FIG. 5, a subsidiary support plate 60 is provided inside the elastic support member 20, thus partitioning the elastic space 30 into a first elastic space 31 and a second elastic space 32, which are defined in upper and lower portions, respectively.

The subsidiary support plate 60 functions to maintain the internal

durability of the elastic support member 20. In a detailed description, the second elastic space 32 has lower elasticity than the first elastic space 31, and the first elastic space has lower elasticity than the original elastic space 30.

Consequently, when the subsidiary support plate 60 is provided, the elastic deformation of the first and second elastic space 31 and 32 is lower than that of the elastic space 30 having no subsidiary support plate 60. Thus, such a tape is suitable for being used for a hinged door 1 having a relatively large gap.

In this case, if the subsidiary support plate 60 is installed, it is not necessary to make respective portions of the elastic support member 20 have different thickness, unlike FIG. 4, due to the supplementary function of the subsidiary support plate 60.

Meanwhile, FIG. 10 is a view illustrating the state in which the gap- covering tape according to an embodiment of the invention is attached to the lower end of the hinged door 1. When the elastic support member 20, constructed to have different thickness on upper and lower portions, is pressed against the floor 2, the upper portion, which is thinnest, is elastically deformed, the middle portion supports the elastic deformation, and the lower portion, which is thickest, forms a plane. At this time, the ribs 40 are in close elastic contact with the floor 2, and are inclined in a direction opposite the moving direction of the hinged door, because of the friction between the ribs 40 and the floor, thus completely sealing the gap.

At this time, the main support plate 50 is located between the elastic support member 20 and the adhesive plates 10, and fixes the distance between the adhesive plates 10. Even though the elastic support member is pressed against the floor 2 and deformed in a widthwise direction, the adhesive plates 10 are not deformed.

Further, the friction between the ribs 40 and the floor 2 suppresses abrupt movement of the hinged door 1, thus reducing the opening and closing speed of the hinged door 1. Thereby, accidents caused by the abrupt movement

of the hinged door are prevented.

The operational principle of the invention is the same when applied to a gap between the hinged door 1 and an upper portion of a doorframe or a gap between the hinged door and a vertical portion of a doorframe.

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating the state where the gap-covering tape according to another embodiment of this invention is attached to the lower end of the hinged door 1. When the elastic support member 20 is pressed against the floor 2, the second elastic space 32 maintains its original shape to some extent, but the first elastic space 31 contracts. Thereby, the ribs 40 are in close elastic contact with the floor 2.

In this case, the range of contraction of the first and second elastic space 31 and 32 is smaller than that of the elastic space 30, thus enabling the covering of a larger gap around the hinged door 1.

Meanwhile, according to a further embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 6, a bellows part 80 is provided between the elastic support member 20 and the adhesive plates 10. Grooves are formed on the outer or inner surface of the bellows part 80 in the lengthwise direction of the tape. Alternatively, grooves are formed on the outer or inner surface of the bellows part 80 in a zigzag shape, thus maximally bending the bellows part.

As shown in FIG. 12, while the elastic support member 20 is pressed against the floor 2 and forms a plane, the elastic support member is elastically deformed such that its width is much wider than the widthwise distance between the adhesive plates 10. This widthwise difference is compensated for by the bellows part 80, thus preventing the adhesive surfaces 11 from being detached from the hinged door 1.

In a detailed description, when the elastic support member 20 is pressed against the floor 2 and elastically deformed to form a plane, the adhesive plates 10 are pulled outwards in the widthwise direction. Thus, the adhesive surfaces 11 can slowly become detached from the hinged door 1. However, the bellows part 80 is provided between the adhesive plates and the elastic support member and freely bends, thus compensating for or mitigating

the pulling force of the elastic support member, therefore preventing the adhesive surfaces 11 from becoming detached from the hinged door 1.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the main support plate 50 may be installed to be located between the bellows part 80 and the adhesive plate 10. As shown in FIG. 8, the main support plate may be installed to be located between the elastic support member 20 and the bellows parts 80.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the main support plate 50 may be installed to be located between the bellows parts 80 and the adhesive plates 10, and the subsidiary support plate 60 may be installed to be located between the elastic support member 20 and the bellows parts 80.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, the elastic deformation of the elastic support member 20 is absorbed at the bellows parts 80, and the widthwise distance between the adhesive plates 10 is fixed by the main support plate 50, thus completely preventing the detachment of the adhesive surfaces 11.

For example, the gap-covering tape for hinged doors, according to the present invention, is easily attached to the edge of the hinged door 1 using the adhesive surfaces 11 of the adhesive plates 10, and the main support plate 50 and/or the bellows part 50 are provided between the elastic support member 20 and the adhesive plates 10. Thereby, in order to prevent the elastic deformation of the elastic support member from affecting the adhesive plates while the elastic support member is pressed against the floor or doorframe, the main support plate 50 and/or the bellows part 50 blocks or absorbs the elastic deformation. Therefore, the present invention completely prevents the adhesive surfaces of the adhesive plates from becoming detached from the hinged door due to the elastic deformation of the elastic support member. [Industrial Applicability]

As described above, the present invention is a useful invention, which is simply attached to the edge of a hinged door, thus perfectly covering gaps having various intervals defined between a hinged door and a doorframe, a

hinged door and a hinged door, or a hinged door and a floor.