Detachable pet door

Abstract

The present invention provides a detachable pet door that can be easily attached to existing hinged doors, avoids reducing heating and cooling efficiency, and allows the hinged doors to be opened and closed freely, just as if the pet door were not installed. [Solution] The frame bodies 10 and 80 comprise an upper frame member 11 and two vertical frame members 12 and 13. The frame bodies 10 and 80 are positioned adjacent to the frame 3 of the hinged door 2 on the side that the hinged door 2 moves when opened. The pet entrance 30 is provided at the bottom of one of the vertical frame members 12. The telescopic member 20 is positioned between the upper frame member 11 and the ceiling 50 above the upper frame member 11, and when extended, presses the frame bodies 10 and 80 against the floor 40.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a detachable pet door that can be installed on an existing hinged door.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, indoors, in order for pets such as dogs and cats to move freely between rooms, the room door is often left open to an extent that allows the pet to pass through. However, when such measures are taken during periods when room temperature control is performed using an air conditioner or the like, such as in the middle of summer or winter, there is a problem that the heating and cooling efficiency deteriorates because the room door is open. Therefore, a measure has been taken to provide a door through which the pet can enter and exit on the door itself. However, in the case of a rental house, since it is necessary to restore the original state when leaving, it is difficult to process the door itself.

[0003] When the door is a sliding door, by installing a panel having a pet entrance / exit at the open part of the sliding door in a state where the sliding door is half-opened, it is possible to allow the pet to enter and exit without processing the door. On the other hand, when the door is a hinged door, it is possible to install such a panel at the open part of the hinged door in a half-opened state. However, in order to install the panel detachably and enable the free opening and closing of the hinged door, a device is required.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a pet door panel that closes the half-open opening of a hinged door with a panel and allows a pet to enter and exit through a pet entrance / exit provided in the panel. This pet door panel is rotatably supported by a support column, and this support column is constituted by a telescopic rod supported by the floor and the ceiling. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which the above-described pet door panel is fixed to the hinged door itself.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

[0006] The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not completely solve the problem of poor heating and cooling efficiency, as the upper part of a partially open hinged door is left open. Furthermore, while it is possible to add a flap to the pet door panel disclosed in Patent Document 1, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, which closes the upper part of a partially open hinged door, it is difficult to fix the position of the flap in the open position with such a configuration. Therefore, the flap falls down each time the door is opened, requiring the troublesome task of readjusting the flap above the partially open hinged door.

[0007] This invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a detachable pet door that can be detachably installed on an existing hinged door, avoids a decrease in heating and cooling efficiency, and allows the hinged door to be opened and closed freely, just as if the pet door were not installed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention employs the following technical means. First, the present invention is based on a removable pet door that can be installed on an existing hinged door. The pet door according to the present invention comprises a frame, a pet entrance, and an expandable member. The frame comprises an upper frame material and It is equipped with two vertical frame members. The frame is positioned adjacent to the door frame on the side that the door moves when it is open. A pet entrance is provided at the bottom of one of the vertical frame members. An expandable member is positioned between the upper frame member and the ceiling above it, and when extended, it presses the frame to the floor.

[0009] The detachable pet door of the present invention has a structure in which a frame equipped with a pet entrance is pressed against the floor and fixed by an expandable member, so it does not require any special processing and can be attached to an existing hinged door in a detachable manner. Furthermore, the hinged door itself can be opened and closed as usual, and even when in use, the upper part of the hinged door is closed when it is half-open, so heating and cooling efficiency is not reduced.

[0010] In the above configuration, the hinged door has a latch, and the vertical frame member providing the pet entrance is equipped with a latch receiver that engages with the latch of the hinged door when it is partially open. Alternatively, a configuration can be adopted in which part or all of the end of the vertical frame member providing the pet entrance on the side facing the opening direction of the hinged door is movable toward the other vertical frame member opposite to that vertical frame member. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a detachable pet door that can be detachably installed on an existing hinged door, avoids a decrease in heating and cooling efficiency, and allows the hinged door to be opened and closed freely, just as if the pet door were not installed. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a detachable pet door according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a schematic perspective view showing the process of installing the frame of a removable pet door on a hinged door to which an example of a removable pet door according to one embodiment of the present invention will be installed. [Figure 3] This is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a detachable pet door in one embodiment of the present invention, installed on a hinged door. [Figure 4] This is a schematic front view showing an example of a detachable pet door in one embodiment of the present invention, installed on a hinged door. [Figure 5] This is a schematic perspective view showing the usage state of an example of a detachable pet door according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a schematic enlarged view showing a pet entrance in an example of a detachable pet door according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This is a schematic plan view illustrating another example of a detachable pet door in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] This is a schematic plan view illustrating another example of a detachable pet door in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] This is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another example of a detachable pet door in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] This is a schematic perspective view showing another example of a detachable pet door in one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings. While not particularly limited, this embodiment embodies the invention by applying it to a hinged door that moves towards the room when opened. Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of the detachable pet door in this embodiment. Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the process of installing the frame of the detachable pet door on a hinged door in which the detachable pet door in this embodiment is installed. Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the detachable pet door in this embodiment installed on a hinged door. Figure 4 is a schematic front view showing the detachable pet door in this embodiment installed on a hinged door. Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the detachable pet door in this embodiment in use. Figure 6 is a schematic enlarged view showing the pet entrance provided by the detachable pet door in this embodiment.

[0014] As shown in Fig. 1, the detachable pet door 1 of the present embodiment includes a frame body 10 and a telescopic member 20. As shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the frame body 10 is arranged adjacent to the frame 3 of the opening door 2 on the side where the opening door 2 moves when it is opened (here, the room side). The right end of the opening door 2 as viewed from the room side is connected to the frame 3 via a hinge 4. Hereinafter, the short side direction of the opening door 2 may be described as the width direction, the long side direction of the opening door 2 may be described as the vertical direction, and the thickness direction of the opening door 2 in the closed state may be described as the depth direction.

[0015] The frame body 10 is composed of an upper frame member 11, two vertical frame members 12, 13, and a lower frame member 14. In the present embodiment, the upper frame member 11, the vertical frame members 12, 13, and the lower frame member 14 are composed of long rectangular plate materials. Although not particularly limited, the cross-sections of the upper frame member 11 and the vertical frame members 12, 13 are the same rectangular shape. That is, the length of the short side of the upper frame member 11 is the same as the length of the short side of the vertical frame members 12, 13, and the thickness of the upper frame member 11 is the same as the thickness of the vertical frame members 12, 13. Also, the lower frame member 14 has the same length of the short side and the long side as the upper frame member 11, but the thickness of the lower frame member 14 is thinner than the thickness of the upper frame member 11. The thickness of the lower frame member 14 only needs to be a thickness that does not hinder the opening and closing of the opening door 2, but it is particularly preferable that the thickness is slightly smaller than the distance between the lower surface of the opening door 2 and the floor 40.

[0016] The frame body 10 has a generally L-shaped cross-section, with the upper ends of two vertical frame members 12 and 13 connected by an upper frame member 11 and the lower ends of the vertical frame members 12 and 13 connected by a lower frame member 14. The connection method of each frame member is not particularly limited, but it is particularly preferable that it is a detachable and assembled connection method such as screwing or fitting. Also, the inner circumference of the frame body 10 is configured to have a size that matches the inner circumference of the frame 3 of the hinged door 2 to be installed, that is, a size that aligns with the outer circumference of the hinged door 2 to be installed. In this embodiment, one leaf of the hinge 4 is fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the frame 3, and the other leaf is fixed to the side surface of the hinged door 2 on the hanging side (opposite to the door tip side). Therefore, by making the inner circumference of the frame body 10 have the same size as the inner circumference of the frame 3, the frame body 10 does not interfere with the opening and closing of the hinged door 2. In this embodiment, the length in the width direction of the inner circumference of the frame body 10 (the length in the width direction of the upper frame member 11) is slightly larger than the length in the width direction of the inner circumference of the frame 3. This reliably avoids the vertical frame member 13 from interfering with the hinge 4. Note that the hinged door 2 is provided with a lever-shaped handle 5 that can be grasped by the user. The user can push and pull the hinged door 2 by grasping the handle 5 and rotating it downward along the hinged door 2. The shape of the handle 5 is not particularly limited, and any known shape such as a doorknob shape can be adopted.

[0017] Also, although not particularly limited, in the lower frame member 14, it is preferable that an elastic member such as rubber is arranged on the lower surface that abuts against the floor 40. This can avoid problems such as the floor 40 being damaged.

[0018] The telescopic member 20 is arranged between the upper frame member 11 and the ceiling 50 above the upper frame member 11 (see FIG. 4). The telescopic member 20 is a rod-shaped member, and by extending, it presses the frame body 10 against the floor 40 to fix it. Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, two telescopic members 20 are arranged between the upper frame member 11 and the ceiling 50 along the width direction of the upper frame member 11.

[0019] A known structure can be used for the telescopic structure of the telescopic member 20. For example, a configuration can be adopted in which male threads are provided on the outer circumference of both ends of the main body 21 of the telescopic member 20, and telescopic parts 22 and 23 are provided on the inner circumference, each having a female thread that screws into the male threads. In this configuration, the amount of protrusion of the telescopic parts 22 and 23 from the main body 21 can be adjusted by rotating the telescopic parts 22 and 23. This allows the length of the telescopic member 20 to be freely adjusted. Although not particularly limited, it is preferable that an elastic material such as rubber be placed on the contact surfaces of the telescopic parts 22 and 23 with the upper frame material 11 and the ceiling 50. This prevents problems such as damage to the ceiling 50. Note that the telescopic parts do not need to be provided at both ends of the main body of the telescopic member 20, and may be provided at only one end.

[0020] A pet entrance 30 is provided at the lower part of the vertical frame member 12 located on the leading edge side of the hinged door 2. A known structure can be adopted for the pet entrance 30. For example, in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 to 3 and 6, the pet entrance 30 is configured to include a swing door 31. The swing door 31 is pivotally supported at the top of the opening 32 provided in the vertical frame member 12, so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis 33 arranged horizontally (in the short direction of the vertical frame member 12). In addition, an iron piece 34 is fixed to the lower end of the swing door 31, and a magnet piece 35 is fixed to the lower end surface of the opening 32.

[0021] In normal circumstances, when no pet is passing through, the swinging door 31 remains stationary in a position where the iron piece 34 and the magnetic piece 35 are attracted to each other due to the weight of the swinging door 31 and the action of the iron piece 34 and the magnetic piece 35. This closes the pet entrance 30. However, when a pet presses the swinging door 31 with its head rest, the swinging door 31 swings in the direction of the pet's entry and exit, allowing the pet to enter and exit through the pet entrance 30.

[0022] When allowing pets to enter and exit through the detachable pet door 1 having the above configuration, as shown in Figure 5, the hinged door 2 is fixed in a half-open state at a position where the leading edge side of the hinged door 2 faces the inner circumferential surface of the room-side end in the short direction of the vertical frame member 12. The fixing method is not particularly limited. Any known method can be used, such as a method of connecting and fixing the hinged door 2 and the vertical frame member 12 using a string or rubber, or a method of fixing them by magnetic force using an iron piece and a magnet piece provided at positions where the vertical frame member 12 and the hinged door 2 face each other. In this embodiment, as a particularly preferred form, the hinged door 2 is fixed in a half-open state by a latch 6 (see Figure 4) provided on the hinged door 2 and a latch receiver 7 provided on the vertical frame member 12. That is, the latch 6 is provided in the vertical center of the leading edge side of the hinged door 2 and moves in and out along the width direction of the hinged door 2 in conjunction with the rotation operation of the handle 5. The latch receiver 7 is provided at the room-side end of the vertical frame member 12 in the shorter direction, opposite the latch 6 of the partially open hinged door 2. The hinged door 2 is maintained in the partially open state by the engagement of the latch 6 and the latch receiver 7. The structure of the latch 6 and latch receiver 7 is publicly known, so a detailed explanation is omitted here.

[0023] As explained above, the detachable pet door 1 is configured such that a frame 10 equipped with a pet entrance 30 is fixed between the floor 40 and the ceiling 50 using an expandable member 20, and can therefore be detachably installed on an existing hinged door. Furthermore, even when the hinged door 2 is half-open to allow pets to enter and exit through the pet entrance 30, the upper part of the hinged door 2 is closed off by the upper frame material 11, thus preventing poor heating and cooling efficiency. In addition, since the frame 10 does not interfere with the opening and closing of the hinged door 2, the hinged door 2 can be opened and closed freely, just as if the detachable pet door 1 were not installed.

[0024] In the above-described embodiment, the vertical frame members 12 are arranged so that their shorter side aligns with the depth direction. In such an arrangement, for example, if the length of the vertical frame member 12 in the shorter side direction is relatively long, or if the protrusion amount of the latch 6 provided on the hinged door 2 is small, there is a possibility that the latch 6 and the latch receiver 7 will not engage. To avoid this situation, as shown in Figure 7, the vertical frame member 11 can be configured such that the end on the room side is positioned closer to the hinge side than the end on the frame 3 side, as long as it does not interfere with the opening and closing of the hinged door 2. Figure 7 is a plan view of the frame 10 seen from above. In Figure 7, the vertical frame members 12 and 13 are shown with dashed lines for illustrative purposes.

[0025] Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which the position of the room-side end of the vertical frame member 12 can be changed. Such a configuration can be realized, for example, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, by rotatably supporting the frame 3-side end of the vertical frame member 12 with respect to the upper frame member 11 and the lower frame member 14, and fixing the vertical frame member 12 in a desired position. Figure 8 is a plan view of the frame 10 seen from above, and Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the lower frame member 14 seen from above. In Figure 8, the vertical frame members 12 and 13 are shown with dashed lines for illustrative purposes.

[0026] As shown in Figure 8, the upper frame member 11 and the vertical frame member 12 are arranged in such a way that the upper end of the vertical frame member 12 abuts against the lower surface of the upper frame member 11, and the upper frame member 11 and the vertical frame member 12 are fixed together with fixing screws 71 and 72. The two fixing screws 71 and 72 are inserted from above the upper frame member 11 through through holes 73 provided at the frame 3 side end of the upper frame member 11 and through arc-shaped through grooves 74 provided at the room side end of the upper frame member 11, centered on the through holes 73, and are screwed into corresponding screw holes provided at the upper end of the vertical frame member 12. Also, as shown in Figure 9, the lower frame member 14 and the vertical frame member 12 are arranged in such a way that the lower end of the vertical frame member 12 abuts against the upper surface of the lower frame member 14, and cylindrical protrusions 75 and 76 are provided at the lower end of the vertical frame member 12. The protrusion 75 is inserted into a through hole 77 provided at the frame 3 side end of the lower frame member 14. Furthermore, the protruding portion 76 is provided at the room-side end of the lower frame member 14 and is inserted into an arc-shaped through groove 78 centered on the through hole 77. In this configuration, a stopper 79 is used to fix the vertical frame member 12 when it is positioned at a desired location. The stopper 79 is made of an elastic material and has a shape that allows the entire stopper to be pressed into the through groove 78. By arranging the stopper 79 on both sides in the direction of movement of the vertical frame member 12, the vertical frame member 12 can be fixed at a desired position. By adopting this configuration, the room-side end of the vertical frame member 12 can be positioned closer to the suspension side than the end on the frame 3 side. Note that in Figure 8, only the shafts of the screws 71 and 72 are shown for illustrative purposes.

[0027] Alternatively, instead of making the room-side end of the vertical frame member 12 movable, a configuration may be adopted in which the portion of the vertical frame member 12 including the latch receiver 7 can extend toward the latch 6 side of the hinged door 2. For example, the vertical frame member 12 can be configured in such a way that a rectangular parallelepiped first portion including the latch receiver 7 and the other second portions can be separated. In this case, for example, the first portion may be configured as a rectangular parallelepiped block, and the second portion may be configured to have a recess that fits with the first portion. In this configuration, the first portion can be made to protrude toward the hinged door 2 by placing a spacer of a predetermined thickness between the first portion and the recess of the second portion.

[0028] In this way, by configuring the end of the vertical frame member 12 on the side facing the opening direction of the hinged door 2 to be movable toward the other vertical frame member opposite to the said vertical frame member, it is possible to reliably avoid a situation in which the latch 6 and the latch receiver 7 do not engage.

[0029] As described above, the present invention makes it possible to realize a pet door that can be detachably installed on an existing hinged door, avoids a decrease in heating and cooling efficiency, and allows the hinged door to be opened and closed freely, just as if the pet door were not installed.

[0030] It should be noted that the embodiments described above do not limit the technical scope of the present invention, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the present invention, even those not already described. For example, in the embodiments described above, an example was described in which the upper frame member 11, vertical frame members 12, 13, and lower frame member 14 are each composed of a single member, but the upper frame member 11, vertical frame members 12, 13, and lower frame member 14 may each be composed of multiple members. Also, in the embodiments described above, a configuration in which the frame body 10 includes a lower frame member 14 was described, but the inclusion of a lower frame member 14 is not essential. As shown in Figure 10, it is also possible to adopt a frame body 80 that has a U-shaped cross-section with an open lower end overall, where the upper ends of two vertical frame members 12 and 13 are connected by the upper frame member 11. In this case, it is more preferable to place an elastic member such as rubber on the contact surface with the floor 40 of the vertical frame members 12 and 13 to avoid problems such as damage to the floor 40. Also, in the embodiments described above, the frame body 1 Although the configuration described above aligns with frame 3, frame 10 may be larger than frame 3. For example, in Figure 1, the vertical frame member 13 may be positioned further to the right than the hinge-side end of frame 3. Also, although the configuration described above includes a latch 6 for the hinged door 2, the inclusion of a latch 6 is not mandatory. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the lengths of the vertical frame members 12 and 13 in the short direction were made the same, but the width of the vertical frame member 13 on the hinge side in the short direction may be smaller than the width of the vertical frame member 12 in the short direction. [Industrial applicability]

[0031] According to the present invention, a pet door can be detachably installed on an existing hinged door, avoids a decrease in heating and cooling efficiency, and allows the hinged door to be opened and closed freely as if the pet door were not installed, making it useful as a detachable pet door. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0032] 1. Detachable pet door 2 Hinged doors Slot 3 6 Latch 7 Latch receiver 10 Frame 11 Upper frame material 12, 13 Vertical frame material 20 Expandable members 30 Pet entrances 40 beds 50 Ceiling

Claims

1. A pet door that can be installed in an existing hinged door, The frame body, which comprises an upper frame member and two vertical frame members, is positioned adjacent to the frame of the hinged door on the side that the hinged door moves when open, A pet entrance is provided at the lower part of one of the vertical frame members, An expandable member is positioned between the upper frame member and the ceiling above the upper frame member, and extends to press the frame against the floor. A detachable pet door equipped with [features / features].

2. The aforementioned hinged door has a latch, The detachable pet door according to claim 1, wherein the vertical frame member having the pet entrance is provided with a latch receiver that engages with the latch of the hinged door when it is in a half-open state.

3. A detachable pet door according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a part or all of the end of the vertical frame member having the pet entrance on the side facing the opening direction of the hinged door is configured to be movable toward the other vertical frame member opposite to the said vertical frame member.

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