CHILD-PROOF CATCHES The present invention concerns catches for doors and the like to prevent them being opened by children and especially toddlers. It is difficult to stop toddlers with their enquiring minds gaining access to cupboards which can contain poisons such as bleaches and to refrigerators and breaking say eggs without going to the extent of padlocks which make normal access by adults tedious with the adults having to carry bunches of keys.

The present invention provides a catch for doors and the like to prevent them being opened by children comprising a male member and a female member, one of the members to be mounted on the door or the like and one on the door frame or like immovable part, and both of the members having complementary inclined surfaces with one of the members comprising two limbs each having some resiliency whereby during engagement of the two members the two limbs are wedged apart or together, the two members also having complementary catch surfaces so that after full engagement of the two members the resiliency of the limbs causes the catch surfaces to engage preventing the disengagement of the two members and the limbs being arranged so that with the catch surfaces engaged the limbsproject through and beyond the other member so that the ends of the limbs can be squeezed together to disengage the catch surfaces and permit disengagement of the two members.

The catch of the present invention is basically intended for use as an auxiliary catch for refrigerators so that a door to be opened needs one hand to operate a main catch and one hand to operate the auxiliary catch. The auxiliary catch can be designed so the limbs need a large hand (i.e. not a child's hand) to span the two limbs and apply a squeeze to release the catch surfaces or a powerful grip or a combination of the two.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a side view on a female member, Figure 2 is a side view on a male member, and Figure 3 is a section on line III - III of Figure 2 of a male member engaged with the female member.

The female member shown in Figure 1 is a one-piece moulding of ABS plastics material comprising a base 11 to be stuck on a vertical edge of a refrigerator door remote from the hinges of that door, two walls 13 outstanding from the base, and a bridge piece 14 generally in the form of a short length of rectangular tube the small sides (the walls 13) taper inwardly with the broader end of the tube being cut away on one of the long sides to leave the bridge piece 14. The internal surfaces 15 of the walls 13 thus converge and can be used as wedging surfaces due to their inclination.

The male member shown in Figure 2 is a one-piece moulding of ABS plastics material essentially and comprises a mounting block 16 and two limbs 17 extending from the block 16. The block 16 is conveniently made hollow and one way of achieving a neat appearance is to have a clip-in lid 18 which,whilst a second piece,does not really affect the integrity of the male member. The two limbs 17 are about 6½ cm. long and each has a U-shaped section over the greater part of its length of 1 cm. by 6 mm. with a wall thickness of 2 mm leaving another 2 mm between the legs of the U. The free ends of the limbs are In the form of single-sided barbs 19 having blunt tips 20 from which run outwardly inclined surfaces 21 on the outer faces of the limbs back to a step, shoulder or catch surface 22 transverse to the limb on each limb. These inclined surfaces complement the inclined surfaces 15 but can and preferably are patterned as by transverse ribbing (not shown) to give a convenient grip or feel when the surfaces are squeezed together manually. A stop arrangement comprising a leg 23 extending inwardly from each limb, one leg having a notched end and the other a pointed end so when the limbs are squeezed together the legs engage to prevent excess squeezing without any danger of the legs slipping off each other. This stop arrangement should be dimensioned so as to allow barely the catch surfaces to pass through the female member. The stiffness of the limbs should be such as to require at least 1.5 kilograms squeezing pressure to engage the stop legs and this in combination with a spacing of about 3.50 cm. between the surfaces 21 should render the catch toddler- proof; it is to be remarked that when the members are engaged only the barbs 19 project from the female member and these barbs are too small to be gripped with the full hand.

Figure 3 illustrates the members stuck to the side (shown in chain dash line 25) of a refrigerator remote from the hinges with one member being on the fised side or the refrigerator and on on the door edge by means of an adhesive applied to a face each of the members. This adhesive is shown on an enlarged scale at 26 and the members as sold would have this adhesive protected by a tear-off layer. The female member can be stuck to the edge of the door and this will present the barbs for manual release in the most convenient manner and with less risk of catching clothing on the barbs but sometimes it may be preferred to have the male member attached to the door edge to conceal the manner of disengagement. This figure also illustrates that the legs need only be small and that some clearance is provided between the limbs and the bridge (this clearance allows for the angular motion as the members engage and the amount of clearance needed for this can be reduced by altering the dimensions of the bridge).

The catch members are preferably made of white plastics material to match the conventional refrigerator colour.

The described catch can be adapted for use with cupboards without access to the outside wall by attaching the male member inside the cupboard with the barbs projecting through a hole cut in the door.