A doorstop (also door stopper, door stop or door wedge) is an object or device used to hold a

door 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 securit ...

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.

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. Despite their early manufacturing, credit for the invention of the doorstop is usually granted to Osburn Dorsey, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

inventor, in 1878. The doorstop was Dorsey's most famous invention and he received a US patent, number 210,764, for the invention.

Usage

Holding doors open

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

wedge A wedge is a triangle, 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 conver ...

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 Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. Types of friction include dry, fluid, lubricated, skin, and internal -- an incomplete list. The study of t ...

to keep it motionless. 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 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 ...

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 A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

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. File:Brick door stop in action.jpg, A metal brick used as a doorstop File:Rubber door stop in action.jpg, A commercially available rubber doorstop File:Built-in door door stop in action.jpg, A door mounted doorstop File:Decorative concrete doorstop.jpg, A decorative concrete doorstop

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 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 building, residential and commercial buildings, internal doors, cupboard doors and vehic ...

. A short, wall-attached doorstop, usually a rubber dome or cylinder, is sometimes called a wall bumper. Rigid metal springs (also tipped with rubber or plastic) are used to absorb and more widely distribute the kinetic energy of the door swinging. 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 In architecture, a baseboard (also called skirting board, skirting, wainscoting, mopboard, trim, floor molding, or base molding) is usually wooden, MDF or vinyl board covering the lowest part of an interior wall. Its purpose is to cover the ...

molding. File:Built-in wall door stop.jpg, A doorknob-blocking wall mounted doorstop, also called a "wall bumper" File:Built-in floor door stop.jpg, A floor mounted doorstop File:No Door Stop.jpg, The consequences of lacking a doorstop File:Doorstop or Door Stopper.jpg, Rigid metal spring doorstop in solid baseboard molding

Holding doors closed

In his 1906 book ''The Right Way to Do Wrong'',

Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

recommends the use of a doorstop wedge to prevent a door from being pushed open from the outside, to deter burglars at night.

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''.

References

External links

* {{Commonscatinline Door furniture