Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6588155
-
Patent Number
6,588,155
-
Date Filed
Friday, July 20, 200122 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, July 8, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 049 504
- 049 505
- 052 211
- 052 71701
- 052 2041
- 070 466
- 292 340
- 292 34118
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A door frame and gusset system for adjustably attaching a strike plate to a door frame. The door frame includes an emboss indentation having slots and tabs. The tabs engage and align a gusset mounted on the back side of the door frame opposite the strike plate. The gusset has threaded holes for engaging screws which attach the strike plate to the gusset through the slots in the emboss indentation. The gusset also has slots which engage the tabs to allow the gusset to move horizontally with respect to the frame and prevent vertical movement of the gusset with respect to the frame. The slots in the emboss indentation allow relative movement of the gusset and strike plate with respect to the door frame to adjust the position of the strike plate. A separate dust box may also be incorporated between the gusset and the door frame. In addition, integral gusset and dust box assembly may be used in connection with the door frame and gusset system.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a door frame and gusset system, and more specifically relates to a door frame and gusset system for attaching a strike plate to the door frame to allow adjustment of the strike plate with respect to the door frame.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Traditionally, doors are hung on wooden door frames by inserting screws through strike plates and hinges into the wood of the wall surrounding the door. Newer, industrial constructions, however, typically use metal door frames. The door frames are often thin-walled and thus do not have a solid background material for receiving a screw for mounting the strike plate or the hinges for the door.
Typically, manufacturers use a gusset behind a door frame for receiving the screws that support the strike plate and the hinge of a door mounted to the door frame. The gusset usually comprises a small plate of metal which is thicker than the door frame and which has formed or machined in screw holes which match the pattern of screw holes on the strike plate or the hinges. The holes in the gusset are tapped to receive the screws holding the strike plate or the door hinge.
The door frame generally includes an indentation (called “emboss indentation” in the art) for receiving the strike plate or the hinge of the door. Holes are included in the emboss indentation which match the screw hole pattern on the strike plate or hinge and the gusset. Before the frame is attached to the wall, the gusset is generally attached or held in place against the back side of this emboss indentation by some form of tab. When the gusset is placed on the tabs, the holes in the gusset, the holes in the emboss indentation, and holes in the strike plate or hinge are all aligned. After the gusset is in place, the door frame is attached to the wall. The door frame then stands ready for the attachment of a door, which simply requires inserting a screw through the strike plate or hinge, through the hole in the emboss indentation of the door frame, and into the tapped holes of the gusset.
With the door frame and gusset systems of the prior art, problems sometimes arise when mounting strike plates to the door frame. Particularly, once the strike plate has been mounted on an emboss indentation of the door frame, the latch on the door may not align with the opening in the strike plate in the transverse direction. If the strike plate is mounted too close to the door stop on the door frame, the door latch will not engage the opening of the strike plate, and door will not latch. If, on the other hand, the strike plate is mounted too far away from the door stop on the door frame, the door will latch loosely and may rattle against the door stop. If the strike plate is too close to the door stop, an installer may have to resorted to grinding the opening in the strike plate in order to accommodate the mismatched strike plate and door latch. If the strike plate is too far away from the door stop, the installer may have to install weatherstripping or other cushioning material on the door stop to accommodate the excess space and to thus prevent the door from rattling.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention solves the above problems by providing a door frame and gusset system that accommodates transverse adjustment of a strike plate mounted on the door frame. The door frame and gusset system includes an emboss indentation on the door frame and a gusset mounted on the back side of the emboss indentation. The emboss indentation has slots and tabs. The tabs protrude rearwardly of the door frame. The slots are elongated in the transverse direction of the door frame and are aligned in the longitudinal direction with the holes in the strike plate. The gusset has threaded holes aligned to match the holes in the strike plate. The gusset also has gusset slots which engage the rearward protruding tabs of the emboss indentation.
In order to mount the strike plate onto the door frame, the gusset is first attached to the back side of the emboss indentation by means of the tabs of the emboss indentation engaging the gusset slots. The tabs are then bent to loosely secure the gusset to the door frame. When the gusset is thus attached to the back side of the door frame, the threaded holes in the gusset are in alignment with the slots in the emboss indentation in the longitudinally direction. The gusset slots, in engagement with the bent tabs, allows the gusset to slide transversely with respect to the emboss indentation, but not move longitudinally. Once the gusset is thus attached to the back side of the door frame by means of the bent tabs, the door frame is mounted to the wall which defines the door opening.
When the strike plate is subsequently mounted to the door frame, the holes in the strike plate aligned longitudinally with the slots in the emboss indentation and with the threaded holes in the gusset. With the holes in the strike plate aligned with the threaded holes in the gusset, screws are inserting to hold the strike plate to the door frame by means of the gusset. Because the slots in the emboss indentation extend transversely, both the gusset and strike plate can move transversely to thereby adjust the strike plate to ensure aligned engagement of the opening of the strike plate with the door latch. Once the proper alignment has been achieved, the screws are tightened, and the gussets holds the strike plate in the desired position.
The door frame and gusset system of the present invention also allows the use of a dust box with the door frame and strike plate. The dust box has elongated holes that aligned with the threaded holes in the gusset, the emboss indentation slots, and the holes in the strike plate. Consequently, the dust box is be positioned between the front side of the emboss indentation and the strike plate and held in place by the screws which hold the strike plate to the gusset. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the dust box and gusset may comprise an integral gusset and dust box assembly mounted on the back side of the door frame.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved door frame and gusset system for mounting a strike plate.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a door frame and gusset system for mounting a strike plate which accommodates transverse adjustment of the strike plate.
Further objects, features and advantages will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawing and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an exploded perspective view of door frame and gusset system for mounting a strike plate in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a front elevation view of the door frame with an emboss indentation in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3
is a side elevation view (partially broken away) of the door frame with the emboss indentation in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4
is a back perspective view of the door frame with the emboss indentation in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 5
is a back perspective view of the door frame with the gusset mounted on the tabs of the emboss indentation in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 6
is a plan view of the gusset in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 7
is a side elevation view of the gusset in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 8
is a back perspective view of the door frame with the dust box mounted on the tabs of the emboss indentation in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 9
is a back perspective view of the door frame with the dust box and; gusset mounted on the tabs of the emboss indentation in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 10
is a perspective view of the dust box in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 11
is a perspective view of an integral gusset and dust box assembly in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 12
is a back perspective view of the door frame with the integral gusset and dust box assembly mounted on the tabs of the emboss indentation in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts throughout the several views,
FIG. 1
discloses a door frame and gusset system
8
in accordance with the present invention. The door frame and gusset system
8
includes a door frame
10
having an emboss indentation
12
and a gusset
14
. In one embodiment, the door frame and gusset system
8
may further include a separate dust box
11
. In another embodiment, the door frame and gusset system
8
may include and integral gusset and dust box assembly
110
(FIG.
12
). The door frame and gusset system
8
is used to mount a strike plate
18
to the door frame
10
.
The strike plate
18
is a conventional strike plate which may be supplied by a number of manufacturers. The strike plate
18
has holes
20
and
22
which accommodate screws, such as screw
24
, for mounting the strike plate
18
to the door frame
10
. The strike plate
18
also has a square opening
26
which engages a door latch (not shown) in conventional fashion.
Except for the emboss indentation
12
, the door frame
10
is conventional in construction and includes side flanges
28
and
30
, facings
32
and
34
, and door stop
36
having door abutting face
38
. The door frame
10
may be either a knockdown door frame as illustrated in
FIG. 1
or conventional hollow door frame as is known in the art. The present invention is useful in connection with both the hollow door frame and the knockdown door frame. The door frame
10
has a longitudinal direction
40
and a transverse direction
42
. The side flanges
28
and
30
contact each side of a wall on the door latch side of a door opening. The back side of facings
32
and
34
contact the edge of the wall of the door opening, all in conventional fashion. The door frame
10
is conventionally constructed of steel, but other materials that may be formed as shown in FIG.
1
and that meet building code requirements are suitable for carrying out the present invention.
The emboss indentation
12
in the front facing
32
of the door frame
10
has a profile
44
which matches the outline of the strike plate
18
. As can be seen from FIG.
3
and
FIG. 4
, the profile
44
of the emboss indentation
12
extends rearwardly of the facing
32
of the door frame
10
. The emboss indentation
12
further includes tabs
46
,
48
,
50
, and
52
(
FIG. 4
) with corresponding tabs holes
46
a
,
48
a
,
50
a
, and
52
a
(FIG.
1
). In addition, the emboss indentation
12
has slots
54
and
56
which are elongated in the transverse direction
42
and which align in the longitudinal direction
40
with the holes
24
and
22
respectively of the strike plate
18
. The emboss indentation
12
further has a latch accommodating opening
58
.
The gusset
14
has a center opening
60
, threaded holes
62
and
64
, and gusset slots
66
and
68
. The threaded holes
62
and
64
are aligned in the longitudinal direction
40
with the holes
20
and
22
respectively of the strike plate
18
as well as the slots
54
and
56
of the emboss indentation
12
. The slots
66
and
68
align longitudinally with the tabs
46
and
48
and the tabs
50
and
52
respectively of the emboss indentation
12
. Moreover, the holes
62
and
64
are threaded to accommodate the threads of the screws, such as screw
24
. The gusset opening
60
is of a similar size to that of the opening
58
in the emboss indentation
12
.
The dust box
11
comprises a closed rectangular box structure
70
with an opening
72
. Flanges
74
and
76
are attached to either end of the rectangular box structure
70
. The flanges
74
and
76
have enlarged holes
78
and
80
respectively. The rectangular box structure
70
is sized to fit within the opening
60
of the gusset
14
. The opening
72
of the box structure
70
is sized to correspond with the opening
58
of the emboss indentation
12
. The enlarged holes
78
and
80
are positioned to align longitudinally with the holes
20
and
22
of strike plate
18
, with the slots
54
and
56
of the emboss indentation
12
, and with the threaded holes
62
and
64
of the gusset
14
.
In accordance with the present invention, the strike plate
18
is mounted to the door frame
10
in the following manner. For an installation that does not include the dust box
11
, the gusset
14
is the first placed over the tabs
46
,
48
,
50
, and
52
on the back side of the emboss indentation
12
of the door frame
10
as shown in FIG.
5
and the tabs are bent to loosely hold the gusset
14
in place on the back of the door frame
10
. With the gusset slots
66
and
68
of the gusset
14
thus engaged by the bent tabs
46
,
48
,
50
, and
52
, the door frame
10
is installed on the wall that defines the door opening. The side flanges
28
and
30
engage either side of the wall, and the facings
32
and
34
abutt the wall. With the door frame
10
thus mounted on the wall, the strike plate
18
is brought into positioned adjacent the emboss indentation
12
as shown in FIG.
1
. The holes
20
and
22
of the strike plate
18
are aligned with the slots
54
and
56
of the emboss indentation
12
as well as the threaded holes
62
and
60
for of the gusset
14
. Screws, such as screw
24
, are inserted into the holes
20
and
22
of the strike plate
18
and engage the threaded holes
62
and
64
of the gusset
14
. Because the slots
54
and
56
extend in the transverse direction
42
of the door frame
10
, the screws, such as screw
24
, can move within the slots
54
and
56
in the transverse direction
42
. Likewise, because the gusset slots
66
and
68
are longer than the transverse distances defined by the tabs
46
and
48
and the tabs
50
and
52
respectively, the gusset
14
likewise can move in the transverse direction
42
but not in the longitudinal direction when the gusset
14
is connected by the screws to strike plate
18
. If the door, when latch, is too lose and rattles when it is latched, the screws are loosened, and the strike plate is moved closer to the door abutting face
38
. Likewise, if the door does not latch, the strike plate
18
is moved away from the door abutting face
38
. In this way, the door frame and gusset system
8
can accommodate adjustment of the door to assure a tight latch.
For an installation that includes the separate dust box
11
, the gusset
14
and the door frame
10
are installed as previously described. Once the door frame
10
and attached gusset
14
are installed in the door opening, the dust box
11
is inserted from the front side of the door frame
10
through the opening
58
of the emboss indentation
12
and through the opening
60
of the attached gusset
14
. The slotted holes
78
and
80
of the dust box
11
coincided with the slotted holes
54
and
56
of the emboss indentation
12
. Next the holes
20
and
22
of the strike plate
18
are aligned with the slots
78
and
80
of the dust box
11
, the slots
54
and
56
of the emboss indentation
12
, and the threaded holes
62
and
60
for of the gusset
14
. Screws, such as screw
24
, are inserted into the holes
20
and
22
of the strike plate
18
and engage the threaded holes
62
and
64
of the gusset
14
to hold the strike plate
18
and the dust box
11
in place.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the integral gusset and dust box assembly
110
is shown in FIG.
11
. The integral gusset and dust box assembly
110
comprises a closed rectangular box structure
170
with an opening
172
. Flanges
174
and
176
are attached to either end of the rectangular box structure
170
. The flanges
174
and
176
constitute the gusset portion of the gusset and dust box assembly and have threaded holes
178
and
180
respectively as well as slots
182
and
184
respectively. The rectangular box structure
170
and the opening
172
of the box structure
170
are sized to correspond with the opening
58
of the emboss indentation
12
. The threaded holes
178
and
180
are positioned to align longitudinally with the holes
20
and
22
of strike plate
18
and with the slots
54
and
56
of the emboss indentation
12
. The slots
182
and
184
are positioned to align with and to engage the tabs
46
and
48
and the tabs
50
and
52
of the emboss indentation
12
, respectively.
For an installation of the integral gusset and dust box assembly
110
, the gusset and dust box assembly
110
is first placed over the tabs
46
,
48
,
50
, and
52
and engages the tabs by means of the gusset and dust box assembly slots
182
and
184
as shown in FIG.
12
. Once the integral gusset and dust box assembly
10
is mounted on the tabs
46
,
48
,
50
, and
52
, as shown in
FIG. 12
, the holes
20
and
22
of the strike plate
18
are aligned with the slots
54
and
56
of the emboss indentation
12
(
FIG. 1
) as well as the threaded holes
178
and
180
of the gusset and dust box assembly
110
. Screws, such as screw
24
, are inserted into the holes
20
and
22
of the strike plate
18
, through slots
54
and
56
of the emboss indentation
12
(FIG.
1
), and engage the threaded holes
178
and
180
of the gusset and dust box assembly
110
. Because the slots
54
and
56
extend in the transverse direction
42
of the door frame
10
, the screws, such as screw
24
, can move within the slots
54
and
56
in the transverse direction
42
. Likewise, because the gusset and dust box assembly slots
182
and
184
are longer than the transverse distances defined by the tabs
46
and
48
and the tabs
50
and
52
respectively, the gusset and dust box assembly
110
likewise can move in the transverse direction
42
when the gusset and dust box assembly
110
is connected by the screws to strike plate
18
. If the door, when latch, is too lose and rattles when it is latched, the screws are loosened, and the strike plate is moved closer to the door abutting face
38
. Likewise, if the door does not latch, the strike plate
18
is moved away from the door abutting face
38
. In this way, the door frame and gusset system
8
with the integral gusset and dust box assembly
110
can accommodate adjustment of the door to assure a tight latch.
While this invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that variations and modifications can be affected within the spirit and scope of the invention as described herein and before and as described in the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A door frame and gusset system comprising:a. a door frame having a front side, a back side, a longitudinal direction, and a transverse direction; b. an emboss indentation in the door frame comprising: i. embossed slots aligned longitudinally with mounting holes of a strike plate and extending in the transverse direction of the door frame; and ii. embossed tabs formed homogeneously with and extending backwardly from the back side of the door frame; and c. a gusset having threaded holes that align longitudinally with the mounting holes of the strike plate and transversely extending gusset plate slots that engage the tabs so that longitudinal movement of the gusset is prevented and transverse movement of the gusset is accommodated.
- 2. The door frame and gusset system of claim 1, wherein the door frame and gusset system further includes a dust box having dust box slots that align longitudinally with the holes of the gusset so that longitudinal movement of the dust box with respect to the gusset is restricted and transverse movement of the dust box with respect to the gusset is accommodated.
- 3. A door frame and gusset system comprising:a. a door frame having a front side, a back side, a longitudinal direction, and a transverse direction; b. an emboss indentation in the door frame comprising: i. embossed slots aligned longitudinally with mounting holes of a strike plate and extending in the transverse direction of the door frame; and ii. embossed tabs extending backwardly from the back side of the door frame; and c. an integral gusset and dust box assembly having threaded holes that align longitudinally with the mounting holes of the strike plate and having transversely extending slots that engage the tabs so that longitudinal movement of the gusset and dust box assembly is prevented and transverse movement of the gusset and dust box assembly is accommodated.
US Referenced Citations (15)