Patent Application
20250223853
N/A
When doors and door frames are painted, the hinges are oftentimes already installed. It is therefore necessary to tape off the hinges to prevent them from being painted. This can be a very tedious process.
The present disclosure is directed to hinge leaf covers that can be used to mask hinges while painting. A hinge leaf cover configured in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure can be configured to be selectively secured overtop the knuckle components of a hinge leaf to cover the remainder of the hinge leaf during painting. The hinge leaf cover can then be removed and reused if desired.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a hinge leaf cover may include a knuckle portion that is configured to be secured to one or more knuckle components of a hinge leaf and a leaf portion that extends from the knuckle portion and is configured to cover the hinge leaf.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a hinge leaf cover may include a knuckle portion and a leaf portion that extends from the knuckle portion. The knuckle portion includes an extension that is spaced from the leaf portion to form a channel.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a paint masking solution may include a left-hand hinge leaf cover for masking a left-hand hinge leaf of a hinge and a right-hand hinge leaf cover for masking a right-hand hinge leaf of the hinge. The left-hand hinge leaf cover includes a knuckle portion configured to be secured to one or more knuckle components of the left-hand hinge leaf and a leaf portion that extends from the knuckle portion. The right-hand hinge leaf cover includes a knuckle portion configured to be secured to one or more knuckle components of the right-hand hinge leaf and a leaf portion that extends from the knuckle portion.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features of the invention can be obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
Hinge leaf cover 100 includes a leaf portion 110 and a knuckle portion 120. Knuckle portion 120 is configured to be positioned overtop (or at least partially around) the knuckle components of a hinge leaf. In some embodiments, such as the depicted embodiments, knuckle portion 120 may be a cylinder having a height that generally matches the height of the hinge leaf. In other embodiments, knuckle portion 120 could have a shorter height such as a height sufficient to cover the knuckle components when the knuckle components do not extend along the full height of the hinge leaf. In some embodiments, knuckle portion 120 could have an inner diameter (or width or other measurement) that substantially matches the outer diameter of the knuckle components so that hinge leaf cover 100 may be snuggly secured on the hinge leaf. In some embodiments, knuckle portion 120 could have a different cross-sectional inner shape from the knuckle components. For example, knuckle portion 120 could have a square or rectangular cross-sectional shape.
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In some embodiments, a bottom 120a of knuckle portion 120 (including channel 122) is open while a top 120b is closed. With such a configuration, knuckle portion 120 can be slid down overtop the knuckle components of the leaf hinge (see, e.g.,
Leaf portion 110 extends outwardly from knuckle portion 120 at an angle and from a position that causes leaf portion 110 to lie flat overtop the hinge leaf when knuckle portion 120 is secured to the knuckle components. Leaf portion 110 can be shaped and sized to match (or substantially match) the shape and size of a hinge leaf on a door or door frame to be painted. In the depicted embodiments, leaf portion 110 includes rounded outer corners and therefore matches the shape of hinge leaves that are commonly used on interior residential doors. In other embodiments, leaf portion 110 may not have rounded outer corners and may therefore match the shape of hinge leaves that are commonly used on exterior and non-residential doors. In short, leaf portion 110 could be shaped and sized for use on a wide variety of hinge leaves.
In other embodiments, the knuckle portion of a hinge leaf cover could be configured to snap around the knuckle components as opposed to sliding overtop. For example, the knuckle portion could be formed of a sufficiently flexible and resilient material to allow channel 122 to be opened sufficiently to enable the knuckle components to pass through. In such embodiments, the top of extension 121 and the top of a portion of knuckle portion 120 may not be fixed to the closed top portion 120b to thereby enable this widening of channel 122.
A hinge leaf cover configured in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure could be formed of any suitable material and could be formed as a unitary component or as multiple connectable components. As one example, closed top portion 120b could be a removable cover.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
