Door knocker with invisible lenticular breast plate

• US 5,426,891 A
• Filed: 04/04/1994
• Issued: 06/27/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Svehaug, Oswald C.
• Original Assignee: Svehaug, Oswald C.
• Inventors: Svehaug, Oswald C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): REDMAN, JERRY E
• Application Number:
  US08/222,222
• Time in Patent Office: 449 Days
• Field of Search: 49/169, 49/171, 359/511, 359/618, 359/894, D 8/401, D 8/402
• US Class Current: 49/171
• CPC Class Codes: E06B 7/30 Peep-holes; Devices for speaking through; Doors having windows
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 25/04 affording a wide-angle view, e.g. through a spy-hole

Abstract

A combined door knocker and viewer utilizes the from portion of the central breast plate area of the body of a door knocker as the forwardmost element of a lens system, permitting the viewer wide angle viewing of the area forward of the door undetected by the caller, who has no reason to suspect that the breast plate of the knocker coat-of-arms is also the front lens of a viewer.

Claims

1. A combined door knocker and invisible viewer comprising:

(a) a knocker having;

(i) a knocker body mountable on an entryway door and defining a lower portion;

(ii) a hanging yoke pivotally mounted on a said body with a horizontal axis when said body is mounted on a door and having a depending resting position in which a lower portion of said yoke is defined;

(iii) a static percussion element defined in the lower portion of said knocker body and substantially aligned with the lower portion of said yoke when said yoke is in said depending resting position;

(iv) a gravity-operated moving percussion element mounted in the lower portion of said yoke for impacting said static percussion element when said yoke is released from an upper position to fall into said resting position;

(v) said body defining a lenticular region having a front and a rear and defining a frontally visible visual theme incorporating the front of said lenticular region;

(vi) said lenticular region having at least one surface restrictive to passage of visible light forwardly therethrough yet being substantially transparent to visible spectrum radiation passing therethrough in the rearward direction; and

,

(b) a linear optical lens array for positioning in a door behind said lenticular region, with an optical axis passing through said lenticular region when positioned in said door, and the focal lengths of lenses in said lens array being such that an image is formable by a human eye positioned to the rear of said body, from light passing through said lenticular region from the front and through said optical array, said array being mountable in a door and behind said knocker body for enabling residents to view callers through said lenticular region permitting the identification of callers without the knowledge by the callers that there is a viewer behind the door knocker.

2. Combined door knocker assembly according to claim 1 wherein said body is polycarbonate and said lenticular region has a treated surface which is metalized to form a reflective metallic surface.

3. Structure according to claim 2 wherein substantially the entire body of said knocker is vacuum-metalized to present a monolithic reflective facade to the caller.

4. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said yoke straddles said lenticular region and assists in insuring that the caller is substantially within the viewing area of a resident at least when using the knocker.

5. Structure according to claim 1 wherein static percussion element has an extension protruding into the door to which said knocker is mounted to use said door as a sounding board.

6. Structure according to claim 5 wherein said static percussion element is defined by the forward end of a fastener which mounts said body to a door.

7. Structure according to claim 5 wherein said extension is a bolt which mounts said knocker to a door and said static percussion element is mounted on the forward end of said bolt.

8. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said lenticular region defines an inherent lens comprising a forward extension of said linear optical lens array.

9. Structure according to claim 8 wherein said inherent lens and said linear array together define a combination of lens which cooperate optically to provide a resident using said viewer from the rear of a door having a rear, to which door said combination is mounted, a substantially 180°

view by virtue of the forwardmost lens of the lens combination being unitary with said body and spaced forwardly of the door.

10. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said body is a single molded unit fabricated of transparent plastic having a metalized surface.

11. Structure according to claim 10 wherein said yoke is U-shaped defining a rearwardly open central bored socket and said moving percussion element is mounted in said bored socket.

12. Structure according to claim 11 wherein said body has a bore therein in alignment with said moving percussion element in resting position when mounted on a door and including a bolt inserted through said bore and engaging said body to mount same to said door and also to contact said moving percussion element as said yoke is dropped from an upper orientation into its resting orientation.

13. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said lenticular region has a front surface and said frontally visible visual theme is a coat-of-arms having a breast plate defined by said front surface of said lenticular region.