The present invention relates to a door component, a related door, and to a method for manufacturing the same. The door may advantageously be an external domestic door.
There are various types of doors and methods for manufacturing them known in the door manufacturing industry, and the present invention is of particular relevance to what is commonly referred to as an external domestic door, preferably in both contemporary and traditional stiles and rails door designs.
A problem associated with the construction of external domestic doors is that it is challenging to achieve improved thermal insulation performance that complies with the governmental building regulations, while maintaining structural integrity and security. The design of a door component, particularly the door core, should be considered in meeting those requirements.
Most existing timber door cores typically comprise a solid timber core with plywood skins, while traditional stiles and rails doors comprise a solid timber core secured within a frame formed of rails and stiles, with only the panels being thermally insulated by way of polystyrene foam sandwiched between plywood. In both types of construction, preferably a decorative surface veneer can be added for aesthetic purposes.
Various building regulations or consumer demand encourage external doors to be energy efficient; and, in order to comply with those requirements, existing timber rail and stile doors are produced with insulating foam sandwiched only in the door panels. However, this compromises the structural integrity and security of the door and does not maximize thermal insulation properties across the door. Thus, there remains a need for alternative approaches to door and door component design.
A method of engineering/combining together substantially rigid insulating foam with either timber or plywood to produce a door component, particularly a door core, is presented hereinafter.
A first aspect of the present invention provides a door component comprising a thermally insulating material, such as insulating foam, sandwiched by a first layer and a second layer; the component includes at least one strengthening bar.
An advantage of the present invention over the prior art is that the combination of the layers together with the strengthening bar and insulating material helps to improve thermal performance while ensuring enhanced structural stability and security. In particular, one or both of the outer layers may be formed from ply boards (also called plywood boards) and the strengthening bar may be formed from ply material. Cross lamination of the outer ply boards together with the cross laminated strengthening bar(s), which are distributed within the door component with insulating material, can be helpful in improving stability and security of the door component and a door fabricated from, or including, such a door component. Ply board is a known material made by laminating sheets, particularly wood sheets, together to form a board.
The first and second layers are preferably formed by substantially planar boards, particularly ply boards which may be cross ply boards, which may be arranged such that they are substantially parallel to one another. The plane of the boards may extend in a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction, perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The boards may be offset in a depth direction perpendicular to the boards.
The at least one strengthening bar is preferably sandwiched by, and makes contact with, each of the first and second layers. The first and second layers may be bonded, or otherwise attached, to the, or each, strengthening bar, for example by gluing. The strengthening bar may extend across the door component substantially parallel with the lateral direction. The strengthening bar preferably extends substantially continuously from adjacent one edge to adjacent an opposing, second, edge of the door component.
In an embodiment, a door component according to the invention comprises a cross laminated strengthening bar reinforced thermally insulating material which is sandwiched between cross laminated LVB (Laminated Veneer Board) plywood boards. The material used in the door component will be named hereafter as Cross Laminated Ply-Foam (CLPF).
The at least one strengthening bar is preferably an engineered wood product made of cross-laminated LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) with a grain preferably extending in a grain direction, which may be aligned to be substantially parallel with the longitudinal direction. The height of at least one strengthening bar in the longitudinal direction is preferably between about 25 mm to 45 mm, more preferably between about 30 mm to 40 mm, and most preferably substantially 35 mm. The depth of the at least one strengthening bar in the depth direction is preferably between about 10 mm to 40 mm, more preferably between about 15 mm to 35 mm, and most preferably substantially 20 mm to 30 mm. As noted above, the width of the strengthening bar in the lateral direction may be substantially equal to the lateral extent of the boards. The offset between the first and second layers preferably substantially matches the depth (in a direction perpendicular to the first and second layers) of the at least one strengthening bar, particularly in an embodiment in which the layers are attached to opposing sides of the at least one strengthening bar. In embodiments in which more than one strengthening bar is included, it is preferred that all strengthening bars have substantially the same depth. In embodiments in which more than one strengthening bar is included it is preferred if all strengthening bars have substantially the same height (in a direction parallel to the first and second layers, and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the strengthening bar).
A traditional door may comprise rails, stiles and panels (as shown in
The thermally insulating material may be provided in any form. The thermally insulating material may be provided as a plurality of elongate blocks of foam material. Ideally, the plurality of elongate blocks are arranged parallel to one another, with neighboring blocks separated from one another by at least one strengthening bar, preferably by one strengthening bar. Each of the plurality of elongate blocks may extend continuously from a position adjacent a first edge of the door component to a position adjacent a second edge of the door component, wherein the first edge is opposite the second edge. It will be appreciated that at least one, some, or all of the elongate blocks may extend from, or to, a position adjacent an edge of the door component which is recessed from the edge by about 5 mm to 10 mm. At least one, some, or all of the elongate blocks may extend from, or to, a position adjacent an edge of the door component which is substantially aligned with the edge of the door component.
At least one, and preferably each, of the plurality of elongate blocks may have a uniform cross-sectional size and shape along the entire length of the block. Ideally, the shape is rectilinear and preferably is a rectilinear polygon, and more preferably is a square or rectangle. Each of the plurality of elongate blocks may be located with an interference fit between the first and second layers. In this way, the blocks tend to be held in position between the layers. Furthermore, each of the plurality of elongate blocks may be compressed by the remainder of the door component and/or may be compressed by the first and second layers. For example, the foam blocks may have a depth in the depth direction which is substantially equal to, or slightly greater than, the depth of the at least one strengthening bar.
It is preferable that the arrangement of the first and second layers with the or each strengthening bar is such as to provide at least one elongate cavity into which an elongate block may be arranged, for example by being pushed from one end of the cavity to an opposite end thereof. The or each cavity may have a uniform cross-sectional size and shape along its length which is substantially the same as that of the respective elongate block to be received in the cavity.
The at least one strengthening bar preferably has a greater stiffness than the thermally insulating material.
As noted above, the door component can be used in the manufacture of a door. The door component can be used to manufacture parts of the door, or can be used as a door core. A second aspect of the invention therefore provides a door comprising a door component as set out above. It should be noted that a door component may be fabricated by creating a precursor component which can be cut to a desired size and/or shape and may have openings cut therein to receive further components which will make up a door.
A third aspect of the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a door component, wherein the door component is as described above. The method may comprise:
In an alternative method the method comprises:
A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a door, comprising:
Another aspect of the invention provides a door component comprising a thermally insulating material sandwiched by a first plywood layer and a second plywood layer; the component being characterized in that the first and second plywood layers are separated by a plurality of strengthening bars, the strengthening bars being a laminated wood product, the strengthening bars and first and second layers forming cavities extending from a first edge of the first plywood layer to a second edge of the first plywood layer, the second edge being opposite the first edge.
It has been found that a door component as set out above provides a convenient manufacturing method and the use of the laminated materials, preferably some, or all, being cross laminated, set out above provide a door component that is sufficiently strong that transverse strengthening bars that run transverse to the strengthening bars are not required.
The strength of the door component is such that it can be used as a door core for the formation of a door blank in a method including the steps of:
Such a door blank can be further processed, for example by CNC machining, such that it includes further decorative or functional features. The use of such a door component in such a process to manufacture a door facilitates the construction of a joint-less door having acceptable structural and thermal properties.
A similar process can be used in the manufacture of parts of a door, for example the construction of a stile, rail, or panel, the process comprising:
Such a process facilitates the construction of elements, or parts of a door, having acceptable structural and thermal properties.
A schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The laminate sheets of the outer boards 100 are compressed, glued, laminated together, and finally furnished with cross banded veneer applied horizontally for a high quality decorative finish. The five ply sheets are cross laminated with three wood laminate sheets with grain in a first direction separated with two laminate sheets with grain in a second direction, substantially perpendicular to the first direction. Here the three laminate sheets 201, 203, and 205 (marked in
In the illustrated embodiment, the center of the CLPF core 10 is filled with substantially rigid sheets/blocks 125 of insulating foam. The insulating foam material may be preferably substantially synthetic material for example polystyrene, more preferably solid extruded polystyrene, and most preferably STYROFOAM RTM-GV-NC-X™ extruded polystyrene. The foam sheets 125 are arranged with a configuration so as to extend horizontally (when arranged in a use position in a hung door). The foam sheets/boards 125 are 140-145 mm tall, but alternative heights may be used and the sheets may also be arranged with a different configuration (e.g., at an inclination relative to horizontal). The length of the insulating foam sheets is such that the foam extends from adjacent a first edge of the outer boards 100 to adjacent a second edge of the outer boards 100. The second edge is opposite the first edge (e.g., see
In the present embodiment, neighboring foam sheets 125 are separated from one another by strengthening bars 120, which are in this case cross laminated. The strengthening bars are 35 mm in height. Variations in this size are possible. The length of the strengthening bars 120 is such that the bars extends from adjacent a first edge of the outer boards 100 to adjacent a second edge of the outer boards 100. The second edge is opposite the first edge. In the illustrated embodiment, the strengthening bars 120 are equally spaced apart across the vertical length of the door (when arranged in a use position in a hung door). However, it will be appreciated that the strengthening bars can be unequally spaced along the length of the door 20. The number of strengthening bars 120 across the vertical height of the door (as described above) is preferably between six and fourteen, more preferably between eight and twelve, and most preferably eleven. Preferably, the strengthening bars are spaced apart by between about 100 mm to 200 mm, more preferably between about 130 mm to 160 mm. In an embodiment, the strengthening bars are substantially equally spaced apart by about 145 mm. It should be noted that a preferred range of 140-145 mm has been found to provide among the best U values (heat transfer coefficients) while still maintaining the structural strength and stability of a door.
As shown in
As shown in
The rail 1 (or stile 2) further comprises a structure 160 along one edge of the rail 1 (or stile 2) (see
A door 20 as shown in
A method of manufacturing a door component, in particular, a joint-less door, is described below in
In a first step 810, a CLPF core 10 as shown in
In a second step 820, the CLPF core 10 is framed preferably with solid wood 150 around the (typically, four) edges of the boards 100. This is as shown for example in
In a third step 830, an aesthetic surface design 30 for the framed CLPF core construction, as described in step 820, is machined into the outer exposed plywood veneered face. This is ideally achieved with Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining. CNC machining can be applied to manufacture traditional and even complex door designs with high precision. For example, CNC machining may be used preferably to cut out panels with different surface designs 30 from the CLPF door core 10, to create additional panels 30 to be fitted in the CLPF door core 10, or to cut through the door core 10 so that to provide openings comprising glazing beads where glass panels 30 can be fitted therein. It will be understood that the joint-less door design allows an improvement to be made to the performance and endurance of a door by minimizing potential risks of joints opening and panels splitting.
This is as shown in the Hamburg joint-less door in
Equally, a Derby joint-less door is shown in the embodiment of
It will be appreciated that by varying the thickness of the insulating foam layer, a door can have different thickness which will be understood to improve thermal insulation while ensuring enhanced structural integrity and security.
The present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above and it will be understood that features disclosed as part of one embodiment can, if appropriate, be used in combination with other embodiments. Alternative arrangements and suitable materials will be apparent to a reader skilled in the art. Thus, the present invention may be carried out in other ways than those specifically set forth herein without departing from essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1504030.6 | Mar 2015 | GB | national |
This application is a divisional of prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/065,007, filed on 9 Mar. 2016, and claims the benefit of United Kingdom application 1504030.6, filed on 10 Mar. 2015, the disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 15065007 | Mar 2016 | US |
Child | 15614074 | US |