Patent Application
20160319557
The present disclosure generally relates to door installation, and more particularly, to door installation assemblies utilizing brackets for attachment of the door to the door opening.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an alignment tool for a door is disclosed. The alignment tool includes a body portion having top and bottom surfaces defining a first thickness and a planar alignment portion having inner and outer surfaces that define a second thickness. The inner surface of the alignment portion extends orthogonally from the bottom surface of the body portion. A plurality of bosses extend outwardly from the bottom surface of the body portion. An alignment tool engagement feature is disposed on the alignment portion. The engagement feature is configured to engage to a door frame mounting bracket having a corresponding attachment feature.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an assembly for mounting door brackets is disclosed. The assembly includes a bracket including a jamb flange and a wall flange, with a common edge extending therebetween. The jamb flange and the wall flange intersect at the common edge. An alignment tool has a body portion and a planar alignment portion extending therefrom and an engagement feature disposed on an outer surface of the planar alignment portion proximate the body portion. The engagement feature is configured to engage with a portion of the wall flange such that the bracket maintains a substantially stationary position when placed against a jamb and engaged with the engagement feature of the alignment tool.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an alignment tool for a door is disclosed. The alignment tool includes a planar alignment portion extending orthogonally from a body portion, the planar alignment portion having first and second parallel edges disposed outwardly of the body portion. A support structure is disposed within and integrally formed with the body portion. A plurality of bosses extend outwardly from the support structure and are configured to depress into a component when pressure is applied to the body portion thereby marking predefined fastener locations that correlate to a mounting pattern of fasteners.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a pre-hung door assembly is disclosed. The assembly includes a door mounted to a door frame, the door frame including a top door frame member connected on each side thereof to first and second door frame side members, the first and second door frame side members extending below the door on end portions that are opposite to the top door member. An alignment tool has a body portion that extends orthogonally from a planar portion. The planar portion includes a coupling portion attached thereto. A weakened portion separates the planar portion from the coupling portion. A fastener removably couples the planar portion of the alignment tool to the door frame.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a pre-hung door assembly is disclosed. The pre-hung door assembly includes a door mounted to a door frame. An alignment tool having a body portion extends from a planar portion. A void is disposed within the body portion of the alignment tool. A fastener is disposed through the void and removably coupled to a bottom surface of the door. The fastener is configured to hold the door in a constant position.
These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present invention will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon studying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.
In the drawings:
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein.
However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to a detailed design and some schematics may be exaggerated or minimized to show function overview. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
As used herein, the term “and/or,” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.
The following disclosure describes an alignment tool for installing a door. The alignment tool may advantageously employ one or more features that assist in the installation process of the door. The door assembly may include jamb brackets for attaching the door to a door opening. Although the alignment tool described herein is designated for utilization in door installation, it is contemplated that the alignment tool may be used for installation of a jamb or frame for a door, window, skylight, or the like in any opening in a building wall.
Referring to the
The pre-hung door assembly 10 includes a door 26 mounted to a door frame 28 by hinges 30 on a hinge side 32 of the door frame 28 and the door 26. The opposite side of the door frame 28 and the door 26 may be configured as a latch side 34. The prefabricated door frame 28 also includes a header member 36 extending across the upper ends of the side members 32 and 34. The door 26 may be preassembled in the jamb 28, and the door and jamb assembly 10 may be mounted as a unit in the door opening 12 defined by the wall frame member 16.
An alignment tool 38 may be utilized proximate a bottom portion of the door 26 to hold the door 26 in a substantially constant position prior to attachment of the door 26 to a building wall 14. As will be described in greater detail below, the alignment tool 38 has a body portion 42 and a planar portion extending 44 therefrom. The body portion 42 has a first predefined thickness. The predefined thickness may be sized to correspond with a distance 102 between the bottom of the door 26 and the bottom of the door frame side member 32. Similarly, the planar portion 44 has a second predefined thickness. The predefined thicknesses may be based on a desired thickness for installing the pre-hung assembly 10.
Referring to
The body portion 42 of the alignment tool 38 may also include a void 106 through which a second fastener 114 may be disposed. The second fastener 114 may be removably coupled to a bottom surface of the door 26, thereby assisting in holding the door 26 in a constant position. It should be appreciated that the pre-hung door assembly 10 may include only the first 112 or second fastener 114, and need not include both components.
Further, it should be appreciated that the body portion 42 may extend downwardly of the door frame side member 76. With the alignment tool 38 removably attached to the bottom of the door 26 and the body portion 42 extending beyond the door frame side member 76, heavy doors may be easy to move as the pre-hung door assembly 10 may be slid on a ground surface. Additionally, the body portion 42 may also incorporate a curved structure such that the body portion 42 may further assist in sliding the pre-hung door assembly 10 along the ground surface.
Referring to
As illustrated in
Referring to
The wall flange 52 includes inwardly tapered sides 66 extending away from the edge 54, with the tab 68 extending outwardly from the ends of the tapered sides 66. A slot 70 is positioned in the wall flange 52 and oriented perpendicularly to the edge 54. A pair of positioning lines or indicators 72 and 74 extends transversely to the slot 70 at spaced locations in order to facilitate aligning the flanges with a plumb line that is drawn on the wall, which according to one embodiment, may be about one-half inch from the door opening. The alignment tool 38 has two sets of planar edges 86, 88 that may be utilized for marking the plumb lines.
According to one embodiment, the jamb flange 50 of the bracket 48 is intended to be attached to outer side members 32, 34 of the door frame 28, with the wall flange 52 extending perpendicularly away from the jamb flange 50 over the surface of the wall 14. The proper positioning of the jamb flanges 50 is determined by the nature of the wall 50 to which the jamb 28 is mounted. Also, it should be appreciated that the alignment tool 38 described herein may be used with any type of wall and any type of bracket, in which case, the teachings provided herein similarly apply.
Once the jamb flange 50 is mounted on the jamb 28, the door 26 is plumbed by reference to lines 72 or 74 and the wall flange 52 is attached to the door opening 12. In one typical installation, the wall flange 52 is mounted over a wall covering such as drywall 24.
As shown in
While the pre-hung door assembly 10 is aligned with respect to the surfaces and the walls 14 of the rough opening 12, the door brackets 40 and the lockset bracket maintain the relationship between the components while the user makes adjustments to the pre-hung door assembly 10, such as leveling, aligning, and orienting the pre-hung door assembly 10 with respect to the surfaces and the wall 14 of the rough opening 12.
After the pre-hung door assembly 10 is aligned in a desired position, the door frame 36 is fixedly attached to the surfaces 18, 20 of the rough opening 12 such as by nailing or the like. After the pre-hung door assembly 10 is attached to the surfaces 18, 20, the pre-hung door assembly 10 is typically framed with molding (not shown) or the like that attaches to the walls 14 and covers the exterior surface of the frame 36 of the door pre-hung door assembly 10 to provide a pleasing appearance as is known in the art. The alignment tool 38 may be utilized during this process for many tasks, such as holding the brackets 40 in place while each respective bracket is mounted, aligning the door 26, marking appropriate fastener 112 locations, etc.
After the pre-hung door assembly 10 is aligned in a desired position, the door frame 36 is fixedly attached to the surfaces 18, 20 of the rough opening 12 such as by nailing or the like. After the pre-hung door assembly 10 is attached to the surfaces 18, 20, the pre-hung door assembly 10 is typically framed with molding (not shown) or the like that attaches to the walls 14 and covers the exterior surface of the frame 36 of the door pre-hung door assembly 10 to provide a pleasing appearance, as is known in the art.
Referring to
The planar portion 44 has an engagement feature disposed on a surface thereof, which may be configured as a pair of symmetrical tabs 48. The tabs 48 may contact, attach, or engage with the jamb bracket 40 to removably hold a jamb bracket 40 in a desired location while mounting the door assembly 10.
The body portion 42 of the alignment tool 38 has a first predefined thickness z that may correlate to the distance a door is offset from a floor disposed below the door. The planar alignment portion 44, of the illustrated embodiment, has a length w that may extend beyond both sides of the body portion 42. The planar alignment portion 44 also has a predefined width y. The width of the planar alignment portion 44 may be configured based on a desired offset distance that may be measured from the corner of a jamb 28 to the edge of planar alignment portion 44, which would be a distance y from the corner of a wall 14. Lastly, the planar alignment portion 44 may have a predefined thickness x such that the planar alignment portion 44 may be utilized as a temporary shim while mounting the door assembly 10.
According to one embodiment, the thickness of the body portion 42 is less than 2 inches and configured such that the body portion 42 may contact both the bottom surface of a door 26 and a floor when the door is in the installed position. The thickness of the planar alignment portion 44 is configured to be less than 2 inches and may also be used to verify door gaps. The door gap may be the space between the door and door frame 36 or the gap between the door frame 36 and surrounding wall structure 14.
As shown in
Referring to
A plurality of bosses 46 may be disposed the pair of ribs 98 that extend outwardly from the ribs 98. The bosses 46 may each have a central axis that is parallel to the planar portion 44. The bosses 46 are positioned such that a desired pattern of detents may be depressed in a frame component 94 for attaching a door mounting component, such as the jamb bracket 40. According to one embodiment, a jamb bracket 40, such as the ones described above, includes position markers 62 and 64 that are spaced along the narrow portions 58 of the keyhole slots 56 indicating the proper fastener locations for mounting the jamb bracket 40 to the jamb 28. The bosses 46 disposed on the ribs 98 may correlate to the same locations as the position markers 62 and 64. It is contemplated, however, that the bosses 46 may be on any portion of the alignment tool 38 and may be used for marking any component of the door assembly 10.
To use the bosses 46 to mark a proximate frame component 94, the alignment tool 38 is placed at a desired location. Pressure is then applied to the alignment tool 38 such that the bosses 46 are depressed into the frame component 94 to mark the proper positions for conventional fasteners, threaded or otherwise, to be used to fasten a first component of the assembly to a second.
Additionally, as discussed above, the alignment tool 38 may further include voids 106 in the body portion 42 or the planar portion 44. The voids 106 may be offset at a predefined distance from the common edge 90 separating the body portion 42 from the planar alignment portion 44. The voids 106 are also offset from one another, if multiple voids 106 are present, at a predefined distance. Through the use of voids 106, a user may mark a desired point through the void 106, a drill bit may be disposed through the void 106, or a fastener may be attached through a void 106.
Referring to
As illustrated in
Alternatively, the alignment tool 38 may include all necessary positioning features thereon for attaching a jamb bracket 40 to a frame member 92. Thus, a jamb bracket 40, such as the one illustrated in
Although the alignment tool 38 is illustrated having two symmetrical tabs 48 on a planar portion 44 of the alignment tool 38, it is contemplated that the alignment tool 38 may include any number of tabs 48, or any other form of engagement feature, such as clips. Additionally, the alignment tool 38 may hold the jamb bracket 40 against any surface through contact with any portion of the jamb bracket 40. Further, the alignment tool 38 may be made of, or contain, a magnetic or adhesive material for removably coupling the jamb bracket 40 to the alignment tool 38 during the installation process.
Accordingly, alignment tool for installing a door has been advantageously described herein according to exemplary embodiments. The alignment tool may allow for improved, easier, and quicker installation of a pre-hung door assembly. In addition, the alignment tool is advantageously reusable such that a plurality of pre-hung door assemblies may be installed utilizing the same alignment tool. The alignment tool may provide various additional benefits including a bracket holding features, marking features, alignment features, etc.
It is also important to note that the construction and arrangement of the elements of the disclosure as shown in the exemplary embodiments are illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments of the present innovations have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the subject matter recited. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements shown in multiple parts may be integrally formed, the operation of the interfaces may be reversed or otherwise varied, the length or width of the structures and/or members or connectors or other elements of the system may be varied, the nature or number of adjustment positions provided between the elements may be varied. It should be noted that the elements and/or assemblies of the system might be constructed from any of the wide variety of materials that provide sufficient strength or durability, in any of the wide variety of colors, textures, and combinations. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present innovations. Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions, and arrangement of the desired and other exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present innovations.
It will be understood that any described processes or steps within described processes may be combined with other disclosed processes or steps to form structures within the scope of the present disclosure. The exemplary structures and processes disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting.
It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made on the aforementioned structure without departing from the concepts of the present disclosure, and further it is to be understood that such concepts are intended to be covered by the following claims unless these claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
This application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/155,122, which was filed on Apr. 30, 2015, entitled “DOOR ASSEMBLY INSTALLATION TOOL,” there entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62155122 | Apr 2015 | US |
