AU2009238360A1 - Method for fabricating a folded door stile or rail - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT METHOD FOR FABRICATING A FOLDED DOOR STILE OR RAIL The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 1 STANDARD PA TENT APPLICATION METHOD FOR FABRICATING A FOLDED DOOR STILE OR RAIL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5 This invention relates to construction methods in particular but not limited to a method for fabricating a folded door stile or rail. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is a need to economically produce a door aesthetically similar to a traditionally 0 crafted panel door with flat panels. Such doors must be dimensionally stable and not prone to warping or buckling, with sufficient strength to maintain structural integrity. These doors must be made of solid material with sufficient strength and impact resistance. Hinges may be attached to one stile by use of screws for the purpose of hanging the door on a doorjamb. A lock or latch may be inserted into a mortice at 15 the other stile and fastened to the stile by screws. The surface of the door should be easily painted, lacquered or stained with minimum preparation. If required, such paint, lacquer or stain can add weather resistant properties to the door. A flat panel door with the above properties is used as a traditional door, or alternatively a matching lighter-weight door can be produced for use on closets and cabinets.

2 Such prior art doors can be manufactured from any material that is available in sheet form and that can be glued or similarly attached, by overlaying separate pieces to build the desired profile. Traditionally solid panel doors consist of a panel section attached to a rail (horizontal 5 member) and / or stile (vertical member). The strength of a traditional door comes from the joins between the rails and stiles. These joins are traditionally of a mortice and tenon configuration with a tenon of the rail passing through a mortice in the stile, and made firm by the use of wooden wedges. These joins can loosen if the wedge on the tenon compresses, or the end-grain of the stile splits; causing the door to sag. 0 Unless the timber for a solid panel door is suitably dried and stored, the door is prone to warping and buckling. Even when made from properly dried timber, a door may subsequently warp or buckle in conditions of high humidity. Timber suitable for the manufacture of traditional solid panel doors is becoming less available and more expensive. Producing a panelled door by traditional means is also becoming more 15 expensive because of the labour-intensive production process. Other more recent methods of joining components include a shallow mortice and tenon or a dowel joint that is glued together. While this process is more economical to manufacture, it lacks durability because it relies heavily on a relatively small glued surface area.

3 An alternative product that attempts to offer the appearance of a panel door is a constructed hollow-core door with simulated raised panels on its face skins. This product uses a light-weight filling to provide rigidity, and 'raised panels' are needed to allow the filling to be thick enough to provide sufficient rigidity. This style of door 5 however, does not replicate a traditional panel door with flat panels. Because the pattern is achieved by the pressing and forming of its skins, which is a high-volume mass-production process, the hollow-core door is only suitable for production in large quantities of a particular style, pattern or size. 0 OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the invention to ameliorate some or all of the above disadvantages of the prior art by providing a novel and innovative method for producing a solid framed-up panelled door. 15 STATEMENT OF INVENTION In one aspect therefore the invention resides in a method for fabricating a folded door stile or rail, the method including the steps of wrapping around a base panel one or more stile or rail members folded from a development of flat sheet material, said sheet material having grooves cut to allow bending of the sheet material around 4 the edges of the base panel to form a stile or rail, and wherein the stiles or rail so formed are then fixed permanently to the base panel. Preferably the distal edges of the stiles or rails are routered with a suitable aesthetic edge pattern associated with panelled doors. 5 Preferably the stile or rail members wrapped around the base panel can include provision for a reinforcement strip between the base panel and stile member for increased rigidity against warping or buckling, and support for fixture members such as hinges. Preferably the reinforcement strip can be timber or any other suitable material such 0 as metal, or a combination of materials to provide adequate support for fixture members such as hinges or locks etc. In the alternative, an edge portion formed by the warp around stile or rail can be of a thicker dimension for the same purpose. Preferably the sheet material used to form the wrap around stile or rail is a medium 15 density fibre board (MDF), plastic, or any other suitable material that can bend to form a square edge. Preferably the sheet material used is of an environmentally friendly, moisture resistant, weather resistant, and / or is a fire retardant material.

5 Preferably, pieces of similar material can be glued to the flat face of the door panel to simulate muntins and rails, add rigidity, and achieve a desired appearance or design of the door. In a preferred example, the base panel may in fact be part of the sheet material wherein a single layered stile or rail is wrapped around the base panel to 5 form a single sided panelled door with a flush or plain back. BRIEF DESCRIPTION DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be better understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings wherein; 0 Figure 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 shows further detail of the embodiment of Figure 1, and Figures 3A - 3D show an alternative embodiment of the invention, and Figures 4A - 4C show a simpler alternative embodiment of the invention, and Figures 5A and 5B show a further alternative embodiment of the invention. 15 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to drawings, initially to Figure 1, there is shown a perspective view of a door stile or rail 10 with the inclusion of a reinforcement member 12 for the securement or support of fixture members such as hinges (not shown). The door 6 stile or rail is formed from a single piece, preferably of medium density fibre board (MDF) cut from a flat sheet 14, having grooves 16, 18 to allow the folding and bending of the sheet development into the door stile or rail. It will be apparent that the grooves must be cut at 45 degrees to afford a right angle 5 bend wherein the stile or rail overlaps and wraps around the base panel 20. The reinforcement member 12 in this case is shown as a square rectangular piece of timber that will support the screw threads of any hinges used to hang the door. Figure 2 shows detail of the completely wrapped door panel of Figure 1. The reinforcement member 12 is completely enclosed within the stile member 10 and the 0 stile is preferably affixed to the base panel 20 by means of glue and / or other fastening means such as panel pins etc. As shown, the reinforcing member 12 is completely enclosed and is of a sufficient strength to support screw fasteners such as those used for hinges. As shown, the base panel 20 in this case is a separate base panel that is completely 15 wrapped on either side with the wrap around stile or rail member 10. As shown, the stile has a routered patterned edge 10a to afford the appearance of a panel door when completely assembled.

7 Figure 3A and Figure 3B show an alternative embodiment of the invention wherein an integrated single stile 30 is used to wrap around a single sided panel door 32 with a flush or plain back 34. In this drawing there is also shown a reinforcing member 36 which can be attached 5 to the middle portion 31 of the stile to be bent around the reinforcing member 30, or the middle portion can also be raised 33 wherein a thinner reinforcing member 35 can be used. Figure 3C shows the single stile member 30 in the process of being wrapped around the middle reinforcing portion 31, or 33 and 35, and 0 Figure 3D shows the completed single sided board panel 32 with a flat or plain back 34, having the reinforcing member 36 completely enclosed within the folded stile member 30. Also shown is the routered edge 30a of the folding stile member to provide a panelled appearance to the front of the door panel. Figure 4A and 4B show a simpler alternative embodiment of the invention, using only 15 the thickness of the wrap-around stile material, but allowing the inclusion of a thin strip of reinforcing material 37. Figure 4C shows an alternative similar embodiment of the invention to produce a lighter-weight single-faced closet or cabinet door.

8 Figure 5A and Figure 5B show a further example of a panel 40 with folded stile 42, 44 and rail members; 46, 48. Figure 4B shows the flat sheet development from which the perspective view of the panel of Figure 4A is fabricated. The dotted line 50 shows or depicts the inner edge of the stiles and rails when 5 completely folded. As hereinbefore discussed, the invention basically resides in a method for producing a simulation of a traditional flat panelled door using a single piece of material as the main body of the door. The stiles are thus formed by wrapping pieces of material around the intended vertical or horizontal edges of the single base panel, and are o shaped to fold around the three faces of the vertical or horizontal edge to produce a simulated stile or rail respectively. This folding includes sufficient thickness of a suitable material to hold the thread of screws to secure hinges to one so-formed stile and to secure the fact of a lock latch morticed into the other formed stile. Within the fold, strips of metal or other material may be included to increase the strength of the 15 stiles. Subsequent to forming the stile and or rails, pieces of similar material may then be glued to the flat faces of the door to simulate rails and / or muntins. These can then add rigidity to the door, and / or achieve the desired appearance or design on the door.

9 The advantages of this process include: - accurately replicating the appearance of a traditional flat-panelled door; - economic production from pieces that may be cut from a sheet material; - the height and width of the door are dimensionally stable, being formed 5 predominantly by one piece of material; - the door may be produced economically in many patterns, sizes and quantities; - the method of construction is suitable for use with any sheet material of suitable thickness, particularly materials which are formed in layers and have 0 screw-holding ability across the layers, if not along a single sheet of the material; - the door may be finished with a clear finish, or veneered board; - the method can be used to produce lighter-weight doors with a flush rear face for use on closets, cabinets or like application; 15 - fire retardant materials could be used to produce fire-rated doors. VARIATIONS It will of course be realised that while the foregoing has been given by way of illustrative example of this invention, all such and other modifications and variations 10 thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of this invention as is herein set forth. Throughout the description and claims in this specification the word "comprise" and variations of that word such as "comprises" and "comprising", are not intended to 5 exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Claims (2)

1. A method for fabricating a folded door stile or rail to produce a framed up panel, the method including the steps of, wrapping around a base panel one or more stile or rail members folded from a 5 development of flat sheet material, said sheet material having grooves cut to allow bending of the sheet material around the edges of the base panel to form a stile or rail, wherein the stiles or rail so formed are then fixed permanently to the base panel. 0

2. A framed up panel, simulating a typical solid panelled door comprising at least one pair of spaced apart stiles joined by one or more rails, fabricated according to the method in Claim 1.