Doorstop

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A handmade wooden doorstop Wooden wedge door stop.jpg
A handmade wooden doorstop
A manufactured black rubber doorstop Black-doorstop.jpg
A manufactured black rubber doorstop
An integrated doorstop Waterson-door-stop.jpg
An integrated doorstop

A doorstop (also door stopper, door stop or door wedge) is an object or device used to hold a door open or closed, or to prevent a door from opening too widely. The same word is used to refer to a thin slat built inside a door frame to prevent a door from swinging through when closed. A doorstop (applied) may also be a small bracket or 90-degree piece of metal applied to the frame of a door to stop the door from swinging (bi-directional) and converting that door to a single direction (in-swing push or out-swing pull). The doorstop can be a separate part or integrated with a hinge or door closer.

Contents

History

Formally-produced doorstops trace their history to the 18th century in Europe, becoming widely manufactured in Europe in the early 19th century. By the mid 19th century, manufacturing had primarily moved to the United States. [1] Despite their early manufacturing, credit for the invention of the doorstop is usually granted to Osburn Dorsey, an African American inventor, in 1878. The doorstop was Dorsey's most famous invention and he received a US patent, number 210,764, for the invention. [2]

Usage

Holding doors open

A door may be stopped by a doorstop which is simply a heavy solid object, such as a rubber, placed in the path of the door. These stops are predominantly improvised. [1] Historically, lead bricks have been popular choices when available. [3] However, as the toxic nature of lead has been revealed, this use has been strongly discouraged. [4]

Another method is to use a doorstop which is a small wedge of wood, rubber, fabric, plastic, cotton or another material. Manufactured wedges of these materials are commonly available. The wedge is kicked into position and the downward force of the door, now jammed upwards onto the doorstop, provides enough static friction to keep it motionless. [5]

A third strategy is to equip the door itself with a stopping mechanism. In this case, a short metal bar capped with rubber, or another high-friction material, is attached to a hinge near the bottom of the door opposite the door hinge and on the side of the door which is in the direction that it closes. When the door is to be kept open, the bar is swung down so that the rubber end touches the floor. In this configuration, further movement of the door towards being closed increases the force on the rubber end, thereby increasing the frictional force which opposes the movement. When the door is to be closed, the stop is released by pushing the door slightly more open, which releases the stop and allows it to be flipped upwards. A newer version of equipping the door with the stopping mechanism is to attach a magnet to the bottom or top of the door on the side which opens outward, which then latches onto another magnet or magnetic material on the wall or a small hub on the floor. The magnet must be strong enough to hold the weight of the door, but weak enough to be easily detached from the wall or hub. [6]

Preventing damage by doors

Another type of doorstop is used to prevent doors from opening too far and damaging nearby walls. In this case a rubber cylinder or dome—or a rod or block of rubber-tipped metal, wood or plastic—is screwed into the wall, molding or the floor in the path of the door. If it is attached to the wall, it may be either a few inches above the ground, or at such a height as to meet the doorknob. A short, wall-attached doorstop, usually a rubber dome or cylinder, is sometimes called a wall bumper.

On occasion, stops are used that are fitted at the midpoint of the door, as part of the central door-hinge. Such stops are known as a "hinge stops" or "hinge pin" doorstops and are often used to prevent damage to baseboard molding. [7]

Holding doors closed

In his 1906 book The Right Way to Do Wrong, Harry Houdini recommends the use of a doorstop wedge to prevent a door from being pushed open from the outside, to deter burglars at night. [8]

Dialect usage

In various British English dialects, including those in the south-west, north-east and north-west of England, the word "doorstop" is cognate with "doorstep" in standard English, being derived from door and stoop.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Door</span> Movable barrier that allows ingress and egress

A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a doorway or portal. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by controlling access to the doorway (portal). Conventionally, it is a panel that fits into the doorway of a building, room, or vehicle. Doors are generally made of a material suited to the door's task. They are commonly attached by hinges, but can move by other means, such as slides or counterbalancing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinge</span> Mechanical bearing connecting two objects

A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation, with all other translations or rotations prevented; thus a hinge has one degree of freedom. Hinges may be made of flexible material or moving components. In biology, many joints function as hinges, such as the elbow joint.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soundproofing</span> Methods to reduce sound pressure

Soundproofing is any means of impeding sound propagation. There are several basic ways to reduce sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, decoupling, using noise barriers to reflect or absorb the energy of the sound waves, using damping structures such as sound baffles for absorption, or using active antinoise sound generators.

A die is a specialized machine tool used in manufacturing industries to cut and/or form material to a desired shape or profile. Stamping dies are used with a press, as opposed to drawing dies and casting dies which are not. Like molds, dies are generally customized to the item they are used to create.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breaching round</span> Shotgun shell made especially for door breaching

A breaching round or slug-shot is a shotgun shell specially made for door breaching. It is typically fired at a range of 6 inches (15 cm) or less, aimed at the hinges or the area between the doorknob and lock and doorjamb, and is designed to destroy the object it hits and then disperse into a relatively harmless powder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Door furniture</span> Items that are attached to a door or a drawer to enhance its functionality or appearance

Door furniture or door hardware refers to any of the items that are attached to a door or a drawer to enhance its functionality or appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Door handle</span> Device to open or close door

A door handle or doorknob is a handle used to open or close a door. Door handles can be found on all types of doors including exterior doors of residential and commercial buildings, internal doors, cupboard doors and vehicle doors. There are many designs of door handle, depending on the appropriate use. A large number of handles, particularly for commercial and residential doors, incorporate latching or locking mechanisms or are manufactured to fit to standardised door locking or latching mechanisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Closure (container)</span> Devices and techniques used to close or seal a bottle, jug, jar, tube, can, etc.

A closure is a device used to close or seal a container such as a bottle, jug, jar, tube, or can. A closure may be a cap, cover, lid, plug, liner, or the like. The part of the container to which the closure is applied is called the finish.

Rollercoasters use brakes to slow down, or completely stop the train. Rollercoaster brakes can come in the form of magnetic and physical brakes, manual and automatic brakes, brakes that are on the train, and brakes that are on the track. Brakes have existed for as long as rollercoasters have, but they have evolved over time, going from manual skid brakes, to the highly technical magnetic and friction brakes of today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Door closer</span> Mechanical device that closes a door in a controlled manner

A door closer is a mechanical device that regulates the speed and action of a door’s swing. Manual closers store the force used to open the door in some type of spring and reuse it to close the door. Automatic types use electricity to regulate door swing behavior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swaging</span> Metalworking process

Swaging is a forging process in which the dimensions of an item are altered using dies into which the item is forced. Swaging is usually a cold working process, but also may be hot worked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compression molding</span> Method of molding

Compression molding is a method of molding in which the molding material, generally preheated, is first placed in an open, heated mold cavity. The mold is closed with a top force or plug member, pressure is applied to force the material into contact with all mold areas, while heat and pressure are maintained until the molding material has cured; this process is known as compression molding method and in case of rubber it is also known as 'Vulcanisation'. The process employs thermosetting resins in a partially cured stage, either in the form of granules, putty-like masses, or preforms.

A wedge is a triangular shaped tool, a portable inclined plane, and one of the six simple machines. It can be used to separate two objects or portions of an object, lift up an object, or hold an object in place. It functions by converting a force applied to its blunt end into forces perpendicular (normal) to its inclined surfaces. The mechanical advantage of a wedge is given by the ratio of the length of its slope to its width. Although a short wedge with a wide angle may do a job faster, it requires more force than a long wedge with a narrow angle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pet door</span> A pet device

A pet door or pet flap is a small opening to allow pets to enter and exit a building on their own without needing a human to open the door. Originally simple holes, the modern form is a hinged and often spring-loaded panel or flexible flap, and some are electronically controlled. They offer a degree of protection against wind, rain, and larger-bodied intruders entering the dwelling. Similar hatches can let dogs through fences at stiles. A related concept is the pet gate, which is easy for humans to open but acts as a secure pet barrier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screen door</span>

A screen door can refer to a hinged storm door or hinged screen door covering an exterior door, or a screened sliding door used with sliding glass doors. A screen door incorporates screen mesh to block birds, flying insects or airborne debris such as seeds or leaves from entering, and pets and small children from exiting interior spaces, while allowing for air, light, and views.

Weatherstripping is the process of sealing openings such as doors, windows, and trunks from the waters above. The term can also refer to the materials used to carry out such sealing processes. The goal of weatherstripping is to prevent rain and water from entering entirely or partially and accomplishes this by either returning or rerouting water. A secondary goal of weatherstripping is to keep interior air in, thus saving energy on heating and air conditioning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Door chain</span> Security device attached to a door

A door chain, security chain, or security door chain or chain door interviewer consists of a small chain attached to the door frame, which attaches to a track on the door for security purposes. It is a type of lock that is often used along with other types of locks to secure a door. They are commonly used on hotel and motel room doors.

Hotchkiss v. Greenwood, 52 U.S. 248 (1851), was a United States Supreme Court decision credited with introducing into United States patent law the concept of non-obviousness as a patentability requirement, as well as stating the applicable legal standard for determining its presence or absence in a claimed invention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Young House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Isaac Young House is an historic wood frame house on Pinesbridge Road in New Castle, New York, United States. It was built about 1872 in the Second Empire style. Its owner, Isaac Young, was a descendant of early settlers in the area. He chose the Second Empire style, more commonly found in cities and villages than on farms, possibly as a way of demonstrating his affluence. The present structure appears to incorporate parts of a vernacular late 18th-century farmhouse, leaving several anomalies in the current house as a result. The house's position atop a low hill would have, in its time, given it a commanding view of the region, including the Hudson River and New York City's skyline.

An electromagnetic door holder is a simple electromechanical mechanism which can be used to hold a fire door or security door open until given a signal to release. A fire alarm control panel or a similar emergency control system usually controls the door holder.

References

  1. 1 2 Smith, John C. and Nancy M. (23 August 2006). "Collecting Doorstops". The Journal of Antiques and Collectibles. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  2. Katz, Jeff. "Who Invented the Door Stop?". Home Guides | SF Gate. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  3. Prose, Elizabeth. "Those Weird Victorians: Knit Weldon's Lead Cushion, or Door Stop". PieceWork. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  4. Phelps, Anne. "Lead-Safe Housing Policy Guidance" (PDF). Centers for Disease Control.
  5. Thompson, Sara (1 October 2020). "Explorit: Everyday simple machines". Davis Enterprise. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  6. Mead, Taylor (1 March 2019). "This Is the World's Most Attractive Doorstop—Yes, It's Invisible". House Beautiful. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  7. Klimek, Mike (10 September 2016). "Two types of doorstops have advantages, disadvantages". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  8. Houdini, Harry (March 2007). The Right Way to Do Wrong: An Exposé of Successful Criminals. Cosimo, Inc. ISBN   978-1-60206-078-4.