DOOR STRAIGHTENING SYSTEM AND METHODS OF USING SAME

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a door straightening system, and specifically relates to a door straightening system usable to straighten at least a portion of a door before and after the door is pre-hung in a door jam.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Exterior doors are often used as an architectural feature in a home, business, or other building. In many applications, architects request wooden exterior doors to impart a high quality, sophisticated appearance to a structure. Wood doors, for example, can be stained to use the natural wood grain in the exterior design of a structure. The exterior doors can also be located in different areas of a home, for example front entry doors, patio doors, or side garage doors.

Exterior doors are typically made from fiberglass, wood, or other composite materials, but have been known to warp due to a variety of factors. Such warping typically occurs in the stile of a door, but may also occur in other regions of the door.

Many of the factors that cause exterior doors to warp are outside of the control of the manufacturer. If the warping becomes substantial then the door may be considered to have failed in that it does not perform its intended function or at least does not perform its intended function at a desired level of operability. Some common reasons for failure due to warping are climate changes; improper finishing and/or sealing; and poor installation. When the door warps, the end-user will typically call the manufacturer, distributor or pre-hang shop (i.e., the shop where the door was assembled with a door jamb and related hardware) to initiate a warranty claim. Door failures may directly impact the manufacturer and result in warranty, replacement and repair costs that may add up to millions of dollars annually. The overall cost associated with just one warranty claim may be quite high and impacts many different layers in the industry from the manufacture, the installer to the end-user.

With respect to climate changes, exterior doors may be manufactured in one geographic region and then shipped to and installed in another geographic region where the two regions may have extremely different climates, which may include drastically different humidity levels. Further, the climates and humidity levels of the regions may change depending the time of year.

Generally, exterior doors are designed to remain operable within certain ranges of internal moisture content. However, the moisture content may change based on the door's geographic location and sometimes may change rapidly during shipping. For example, an exterior door produced in Denver, Colo., a region with low humidity, is shipped to a distribution center in Hawaii, a region with higher humidity. When the door is manufactured in Colorado it has a low moisture content, but either during shipping or upon arriving in Hawaii the door absorbs moisture, which in turn may cause the stiles, rails and possibly other components to expand (or contract if the conditions were reversed). This expansion or contraction, if substantial enough, may cause detrimental warping in the door and result in failure.

Aside from humidity changes, doors, especially exterior doors, may be exposed to cyclic temperature differences across an interior to an exterior surface of the door. For example, in the winter months in cold climates homes are substantially warmer on the interior resulting in a large temperature differential between the interior and exterior surfaces of the door. The temperature changes over time may cause the door to expand and contract and then eventually warp, even to the point of failure, which in turn may generate a warranty claim and a loss for the manufacturer.

Another issue for exterior doors is an amount of coverage or overhang that helps prevent exposure from rain or direct sun, which again may eventually cause undesired warping. Rain (i.e., moisture) contacting or around the exterior door may result in moisture being drawn into the door, primarily through capillary action, and in turn cause swelling or expansion. In general, wood doors are more prone to water absorption than doors made from fiber-reinforced composite materials such as fiberglass or other non-wood products. The exterior door, without sufficient protection from the ultraviolet sunlight, may experience a greater amount of cyclic expansion and contraction at an undesired frequency or rate. Exterior doors do not typically come pre-finished from the manufacturer, which means the doors are typically finished by the end-user or installer (e.g., home builder). During finishing, the exterior doors are generally sealed to prevent moisture ingression or absorption. However, improperly sealed doors may permit an undesired amount of moisture penetration through mortises (machining locations), the stiles, the rails (typically the bottom rail), and other locations to include intersecting areas between the stiles and rails.

Exterior doors that are painted or pre-finished with a dark color (e.g., black, navy blue, red, dark green, etc.) and then exposed to the sunlight have been known to experience higher warping rates and more severe warping. Typically, the end result of any of the above-discussed climate related issues, which may occur individually or in some combination, is a manufacturer that must financially account for warranty claims, possible lost sales to a competing product, and unhappy customers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a door straightening system for straightening doors to minimize the potential of warping and to allow adjustments to be made if warping should occur. The door straightening system includes elongated tensioning members that are located in a channel, which may take the form of a mortise formed in the door or may be a separate body placed within a hollow door. The system includes an adjustment assembly with cooperating threaded members that operate to rotate the tensioning members in a clockwise (CW) or counter-clockwise (CCW) direction.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a straightening system for a door includes a tensioning member located within the door; an upper reaction plate positioned proximate a top portion of the door and seated at a desired angle relative to a horizontal surface of the door; an adjustment mechanism having a body with a threaded portion and a head with a tool receiving portion, the adjustment mechanism rotatable with respect to the reaction plate to rotate the tensioning member; and an intermediate coupling member having a threaded portion threadably engaged with the threaded portion of the adjustment mechanism and coupled to the tensioning member.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of straightening a door using a door straightening system includes the steps of (1) rotating a first adjustment mechanism in a first rotational direction to change an amount of tension in a first tension member; and (2) while rotating, displacing a portion of the door to correct an amount of warping and sufficiently straighten the door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings:

FIG. 1A is an isometric view of a door having a door straightening system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is an isometric, exploded view of a door having channels configured to receive a door straightening system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the door straightening system of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a close-up cross-sectional view showing an upper portion of the door straightening system of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an adjustment assembly for straightening a door according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective, exploded view of the threaded components of the adjustment assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an upper reaction plate of the adjustment assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the upper reaction plate taken along line 5B-5B in FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a bottom reaction plate of the adjustment assembly of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the bottom reaction plate of FIG. 6 attached to a stile of a door or insert and attached to tensioning members of the adjustment assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an insert for receiving an adjustment assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the insert of FIG. 8 showing the adjustment assembly received therein according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a method of straightening a warped door according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is side elevational view of a door having two door straightening systems installed therein according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As will be described in further detail below, at least one embodiment of the invention includes a door straightening system for straightening doors to minimize the potential of warping and to allow adjustments to be made to doors if warping should occur during manufacture, shipping, installation, after installation or some other time.

FIG. 1A shows a door 100 having a door straightening system 102 located within the door and extending vertically from a top portion 104 to a bottom portion 106 of the door. The door 100 may include stiles 108 and rails 110, and optionally may include a glazing 112. The glazing 112 is an industry term that refers to a glass or decorative insert. The manufacture and construction of the door 100 are generally known in the art, such as the manufacture and construction described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0053744, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In the illustrated embodiment the door is a right-hand opening door because the handle 114 is located on the right-hand side of the door 100. However, it is appreciated that the door 100 could be a left-side opening door or may not have a handle at all such as one of the doors comprising a pair of French doors.

The door straightening system 102 is shown in hidden line format to generally indicate its location within the door 100. Preferably, the door straightening system 102 is located between the handle 114 and a proximate edge surface 116 of the door 100, which happens to be the right-side surface in the illustrated embodiment. In addition, the door straightening system 102 may be located in an insert, channel or mortise formed in the door 100.

For wood doors, which generally have solid wood stiles 108; although some may have composite stiles, the stile 108 operates as the housing to receive much of the door straightening system 102. The stile 108, during manufacturing or during retrofitting, may be machined to create mortises or channels 109 that are sized to receive respective portions of the door straightening system 102 as best seen in FIG. 1B.

For non-wood doors, such as fiberglass exterior doors, much of the straightening system 102 may be housed in an insert 200 (FIGS. 8 and 9). In turn, the insert 200 may be pre-machined to receive the hardware for the door straightening system 102. One purpose of the insert is to keep the hardware in place throughout the manufacturing process and to provide the stability and reinforcement needed to utilize the door straightening system 102 in the non-wood door.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the door 100 and the door straightening system 102, which includes elongated tension members 118 and an adjustment assembly 120. Upper and lower reaction plates 122, 124 are coupled to the door 100 and operate to retain the tension members 118 and adjustment assembly 120 within the door 100. The upper and lower reactions plates 122, 124 also provide the structural load path between the door straightening system 102 and the door 100 and operate to convert tension within the tensioning members 118 to movement of the door 100 to correct warping. The tensioning members 118 extend vertically from the upper reaction plate 122 to the lower reaction plate 124 and include an arcuate shape so they are offset 126 from the deadbolt latch bore 128 and from the latch bore 130. The tension members 118 may take the form of straps or rods and may be made from a variety of materials, such as but not limited to steel, aluminum, titanium, fiber-reinforced composites, etc.

FIG. 2B shows the portion of the door 100 and door straightening system 102 located above the deadbolt latch bore 128. The adjustment assembly 120 includes a pair of adjustment mechanisms 132 each having a body 134 and a head 136. The adjustment assembly 120 further includes a pair of intermediate coupling members 138 that cooperate with the adjustment mechanisms 132 to rotate the tension members 118.

FIG. 3 shows a selected portion of the adjustment assembly 120 for purposes of clarity and brevity. The body 134 of the adjustment mechanism 132 includes a threaded portion 142 and the head 136 includes a tool receiving portion 144, which may take the form of a slot or recess configured to receive a screw driver, an allen wrench or some other tool. The head 136 is configured to be received in a recess 146 located in the upper reaction plate 122. The adjustment mechanisms 132 are rotatable with respect to the upper reaction plate 122 to rotate the tensioning member 118. The net effect of such a rotation on the door 100 will be described in detail below.

The intermediate coupling member 138 includes an attachment portion 148 and a threaded portion 150. The tension member 118 is coupled to the attachment portion 148 using a mechanical connection 140 sufficient to transfer tension load between the intermediate coupling member 138 and the tension member 118. The mechanical connection 140 may take the form of, but is not limited to, fasteners, bonding, or welding (e.g., spot welding). The threaded portion 150 is configured to threadably engage the threaded portion 142 of the adjustment mechanism 132. Thus, rotation of the adjustment mechanism 132 via the head 136 causes the intermediate coupling member 138 to move upward or downward relative to the adjustment mechanism 132. In turn, this increases (tightening) or decreases (loosening) the tension in the tension member 118. The mechanical strain within the tension member 118 is brought into static equilibrium with the door 100 through movement of the door 100, which is how a warping condition of the door 100 may be corrected. By way of example, two full turns of the head 136 in a clockwise direction may be sufficient to correct a minor warping condition. Briefly referring to FIG. 4 and depending on the type of door and an amount of anticipated warping, a length 152 of the body 134 of the adjustment mechanism 132 and a length 154 of the threaded portion 150 of the intermediate coupling member 138 may be lengthened or shortened. In addition, the threads may be fine or course threads with a selected thread pitch depending on an amount of tension applied relative to one full rotation of the head 136.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the upper reaction plate 122. In one embodiment, the upper reaction plate 122 is a unitary component with a front portion 122a and a rear portion 122b while in another embodiment the upper reaction plate 122 is actually two plates, 122a (front) and 122b (rear), abutted together along an interface 156. In either embodiment, the upper reaction plate 122 is positioned within a recess or pocket machined in a top portion 104 (FIG. 1) of the door 100 (FIG. 1). For purposes of brevity, the upper reaction plate henceforth will be considered a unitary component. Thus, referring to FIG. 5B, the forward portion 122a and the rear portion 122b are angled with respect to a horizontal 158. The front portion 122a may be configured at an angle 160 relative to the horizontal 158 while the rear portion 122b may be configured at an angle 162 relative to the horizontal 158. The angles 160 and 162 may be identical or different, but in most cases it is understood the angles 160 and 162 will be the same. One purpose of the angles 160 and 162 is to cooperate with the arcuate shaped tension members 118 and thus reduce the torsional and bending stresses in the adjustment assembly 120. Another purpose of the angles 160 and 162 is to maintain the adjustment mechanisms 132 (FIG. 2B) (e.g., interior and exterior, respectively) closer together. In one embodiment, the angles 160 and 162 are each in a range of about 0-30 degrees. In a preferred embodiment, the angles 160 and 162 are each approximately three degrees relative to the horizontal 158. As discussed above, the upper reaction plate 122 includes the recess 146 to receive the head 136 of the adjustment mechanism 132 and an opening 164 to receive the body 134 of the adjustment mechanism 132.

FIG. 6 shows the lower reaction plate 124 having an opening 166 for receiving the tension members 118. The lower reaction plate 124 may be mounted to the rail 110 (FIG. 1), the stile 108 (FIG. 1) or the insert 200 (FIG. 8).

FIG. 7 shows the lower reaction plate 124 coupled to the stile 108. The tension members 118 are coupled to the lower reaction plate 124 via welding, fastening, bonding or some other mechanical connection 168. In the illustrated embodiment, lower portions 169 of the tension members 118 may be bent over and coupled to a lower surface 174 of the lower reaction plate 124. The tension members 118 are located in a channel 170 formed in the door 100 (FIG. 1) and then received in the slot 166 (FIG. 6). In the illustrated embodiment, the lower reaction plate 124 is received in a recess 172 formed in the stile 108 such that the lower surface 174 of the plate 124 is offset by a desired distance 171 from a lower surface 176 of the stile 108. The reason for locating the plate 124 at the desired distance 171 relative to the lower surface 176 of the stile 108 is to permit trimming of the bottom portion of the door 100. Alternatively, the plate 124 could abut the lower surface 176 of the stile 108 or placed in a recess closer to or adjacent the lower surface 176 of the stile 108. Although the stile 108 has been described herein as the mating attachment member for the plate 124, it is appreciated that the rail 110 (FIG. 1) or the insert 200 (FIG. 8) may also make suitable attachment members for the plate 124.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the insert 200, which is generally employed in non-wood doors and which is configured to receive a door straightening system 202 (FIG. 9). Non-wood doors, such as fiberglass, steel, reinforced fiber composite, plastic, etc., generally include an exterior facing skin or panel (e.g., faces toward an ambient environment) and an interior facing skin or panel (e.g., faces toward an interior environment). The non-wood door may further include a top insert, a bottom insert, side or edge inserts, a lock block, and glazing. After the non-wood door is assembled, it is typically injected with foam through one or more access ports located in a bottom portion of the door. The foam cures and provides increased stability to the non-wood door.

The insert 200 may take the form of an elongated, rectangular shaped body 204 having a width 206 that is equal to or approximately equal to a thickness of a door 208. Side surfaces 210 of the insert 200 may be bonded or otherwise fastened to interior surfaces 212 of door panels 214, which may take the from of an interior facing panel 214a (e.g., facing toward an interior region of a structure) and an exterior facing panel 214b (e.g., facing toward an exterior region of the structure and/or toward an ambient environment). The insert 200 may be made from a variety of materials such as plastic, metal, or composite materials. When an insert 200 is employed in a non-wood door, the configuration and stiffness of the insert 200 may be selected to increase the stability of the door and help prevent at least some amount of initial warping. The door straightening system 202 may take the form of the door straightening system 102 described above.

Referring back to FIG. 2A and FIG. 9, the straightening systems may be used with a variety of exterior doors, such as wood, fiberglass, composite and other types of doors. As such, there are different methods for placing the straightening systems into the door as discussed above. When using the straightening system in a wood door, the majority of the components are located in a channel or mortise machined in the stile of the door. When using the straightening system in a fiberglass or composite door, the majority of the components are located within the insert.

After the door has been assembled with the straightening system, an initial amount of tension may be applied to the tensioning members by rotating the head of one or both of the adjustment mechanisms with a tool (see FIG. 3). Advantageously, this type of initial tensioning may help reduce an amount of warping that some doors may experience.

FIG. 10 schematically shows a method of adjusting a door, whether the door is a wood or non-wood door. In the illustrated embodiment, a door 300 includes a straightening system 302 installed therein and the door 300 has warped toward an interior region 304 of a structure. Correcting the warping may be accomplished regardless of whether the door has been installed into a home or building or remains in an uninstalled state. Once it has been determined that the door 300 has warped toward the interior region 304, which is most common, then by way of example an exterior adjustment mechanism 306 may be rotated in a tightening manner to increase an amount of tension in an exterior tension member 308. The tension is reacted at least by the exterior, upper and lower reaction plates 310, 312, and generates a net force vector 313 causing movement of both interior and exterior facing panels 314, 328 of the door 300. The amount of movement may be controlled to substantially reduce or eliminate the warping. The exterior facing panel 314 faces an exterior region 316 while the interior facing panel 328 faces the interior region 304. In an alternate embodiment, the tensioning members 308, 320 may crisscross such that the above described warping correction would be accomplished by adjusting the interior adjustment mechanism 318.

Optionally, an interior adjustment mechanism 318 may be contemporaneously rotated in a loosening manner to decrease the amount of tension in an interior tension member 320 and in turn relieve the stress associated with an interior facing door panel 322, if necessary.

Alternatively, if the door is warping toward the exterior region 316 then the interior adjustment mechanism 318 may be rotated in a tightening manner to increase the amount of tension in the interior tension member 320. Similarly, the tension is reacted at least by the interior, upper and lower reaction plates 324, 326, and generates a net force vector (not shown) in approximately an opposite direction of force vector 313 causing movement of both the interior and exterior facing panels 314, 328 of the door 300. Optionally, the exterior adjustment mechanism 306 may be contemporaneously rotated in a loosening manner to decrease the amount of tension in the exterior tension member 308, if necessary.

The increasing or decreasing of the tension in the tension members may be accomplished through small rotations of the adjustment mechanism, for example one-quarter turn rotations. In one embodiment, the heads of the interior and exterior adjustment mechanisms may be marked with indices or markings indicating in selected circumferential increments, for example increments of one-quarter turns. To permit the door to reach a static equilibrium after one incremental adjustment, it may be advantageous to refrain from subsequent adjustments until the door has been allowed to set for at least a brief time, for example one to five minutes. During this period or near the end of this period, it may further be advantageous to check the straightness of the door with a level, a straight edge or some other equivalent tool.

FIG. 11 shows a door 400 having a left-hand door straightening system 402a and a right-hand door straightening system 402b each installed in the door 400. One reason for installing two systems 402a, 402b is because some manufactures do not distinguish between left and right hand doors, thus how the door will be installed may not be known until just prior to installation. In such a situation, the door 400 could include the two straightening systems 402a, 402b even though one of them will end up on a hinge side of the door 400.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined by reference to the claims that follow.

Claims

1. A straightening system for a door comprising: a tensioning member located within the door;an upper reaction plate positioned proximate a top portion of the door and seated at a desired angle relative to a horizontal surface of the door;an adjustment mechanism having a body with a threaded portion and a head with a tool receiving portion, the adjustment mechanism rotatable with respect to the reaction plate to rotate the tensioning member; andan intermediate coupling member having a threaded portion threadably engaged with the threaded portion of the adjustment mechanism and coupled to the tensioning member.
2. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the tensioning member is an elongated steel rod.
3. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the threaded portion of the adjustment mechanism is located within an elongated bore formed within the body of the adjustment mechanism.
4. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the intermediate coupling member is integrally formed with the tensioning member.
5. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the threaded portion of the intermediate coupling member is a cylindrical rod with external machine threads.
6. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the intermediate coupling member is welded to the tensioning member.
7. The straightening system of claim 1, further comprising: a lower reaction plate having a recessed portion to receive the tensioning member.
8. The straightening system of claim 7 wherein the bottom plate is seated in a pocket offset from a bottom edge surface of the door.
9. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the door includes a channel formed along a lengthwise portion of the door and located between an interior surface and an exterior surface of the door, the channel extends from approximately the top portion of the door downward toward a bottom edge surface of the door, the channel is sized to closely receive the tensioning member, the adjustment mechanism and the intermediate coupling member.
10. The straightening system of claim 1, further comprising: an elongated insert extending from approximately the top portion of the door downward toward a bottom edge surface of the door, the elongated insert located between an interior surface and an exterior surface of the door, the insert sized to receive the tensioning member, the adjustment mechanism and the intermediate coupling member.
11. The straightening system of claim 10 wherein a top portion of the elongated insert is coupled to the upper reaction plate.
12. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the desired angle of the reaction plate is in a range of about 1 degree to 30 degrees relative to the horizontal surface of the door.
13. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the desired angle is about 3 degrees relative to the horizontal surface of the door.
14. The straightening system of claim 1 wherein the head of the adjustment mechanism is received in a recess located in the upper reaction plate.
15. A method of straightening a door using a door straightening system, the method comprising: rotating a first adjustment mechanism in a first rotational direction to change an amount of tension in a first tension member; andwhile rotating, displacing a portion of the door to correct an amount of warping and sufficiently straighten the door.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: rotating a second adjustment mechanism in a second rotational direction to change an amount of tension in a second tension member.
17. The method of claim 15 wherein rotating the first adjustment mechanism in the first rotational direction includes inserting a tool into a corresponding opening of the first adjustment mechanism.
18. The method of claim 15 wherein rotating the first adjustment mechanism includes threading the adjustment mechanism relative to a threaded end of an intermediate coupling member that is fixed to the tension member.
19. The method of claim 15, further comprising: reacting the amounts of tension in the first tension member through upper and lower reaction plates coupled to the door.

DOOR STRAIGHTENING SYSTEM AND METHODS OF USING SAME

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Abstract

Description

Claims