1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a door panel, and more particularly to a door panel having a reinforcing structure for allowing two or more door panels to be solidly secured and coupled together.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of typical door panels have been developed and comprise an upper rail and a lower rail, and two side stiles secured together to form a rectangular configuration, and may further comprise one or more rails and/or stiles disposed in lower portion thereof, for reinforcing the lower portion thereof.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,040 to Green discloses one of the typical screen doors which includes an upper rail and a lower rail, and two side stiles secured together to form a rectangular configuration, and the rails and the stiles are made of foamed, closed-cell, solid-core polyvinyl chloride, such that the rails and the stiles include a solid structure having a great weight.
For decreasing the weight of the door panels, the applicant has developed various kinds of door panels having hollow structure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,902 to Chen and U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,021 to Chen discloses two further typical door panel assemblies each of which also includes an upper rail and a lower rail, and two side stiles secured together to form a rectangular configuration, and the rails and the stiles include a hollow structure for suitably reducing the weight of the door panels.
However, the hollow rails and stiles of different door panels may not be solidly secured together due to the hollow structure of the rails and the stiles.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional door panels.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a door panel including a reinforcing structure for allowing two or more door panels to be solidly secured and coupled together.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a door panel comprising an upper beam, a lower beam, and two side beams secured together to form a rectangular configuration. The beams each includes an outer peripheral wall having a partition disposed and secured therein, to separate the beam into a first portion and a second portion, the first portion of the beam includes a chamber formed and provided therein, and includes an insert engaged in the chamber of the first portion of the beam, to reinforce the first portion of the beam, and to allow the first portion of the beam to be solidly coupled to objects. The second portion of the beam includes a chamber formed and provided therein, and includes at least one reinforcing panel disposed and secured therein, to reinforce the hollow second portion of the beam, and to form a hollow structure for the second portion of the beam, and for reducing weight of the beam.
One or more rails may further be provided and secured between the side beams with catches. The rails each includes at least two grooves, the catches each includes a first end engaged into the grooves of the rails, and a second end extended out of the rails, and engaged into the second portion of the beam, and engaged through the reinforcing panel, to solidly secure the rails between the side beams with the catches.
The second ends of the catches include an outer diameter greater than that of the first ends of the catches, to form a peripheral shoulder between the second end and the first end of the catch, and to engage with the rails, and to anchor the catches to the rails. The inserts of the beams may be made of foamable materials and/or made of waste materials.
Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided hereinbelow, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings, and initially to
As shown in
The inner or second portion 26 of the beam 20 also includes a chamber 27 formed and provided therein, and having one or more reinforcing panels 28 disposed and secured therein, to reinforce the hollow inner or second portion 26 of the beam 20. It is to be noted that the inner or second portion 26 of the beam 20 is not required to be secured or coupled to the other objects or door frames, or the other door panels 2, and may thus be made or formed into a hollow structure having no insert engaged therein, such that the weight of the beam 20 may be suitably reduced.
As shown in
It is preferable that the outer ends 42 of the catches 40 each includes an outer diameter greater than that of the inner ends 41 of the catches 40, to form a peripheral shoulder 43 between the outer end 42 and the inner end 41 of the catch 40, and to engage with the rails 30 or the beams 20, and to solidly anchor the catches 40 to the rails 30 and/or the beams 20.
It is to be noted that the catches 40 are arranged perpendicular to the outer peripheral wall 21 and the reinforcing panels 28 of the side beams 20, such that the catches 40 may be solidly secured and anchored to the outer peripheral wall 21 and the reinforcing panels 28 of the side beams 20, and may thus be used to solidly couple and secure the rails 30 and the beams 20 together.
Accordingly, the door panel in accordance with the present invention includes a reinforcing structure for allowing two or more door panels to be solidly secured and coupled together.
Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example only and that numerous changes in the detailed construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.