EP2718529A1

EP2718529A1 - Door frame

Info

Publication number: EP2718529A1
Application number: EP12797112.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Vidar MARSTEIN
Original assignee: Flexiframe As
Current assignee: Flexiframe As
Priority date: 2011-06-08
Filing date: 2012-06-07
Publication date: 2014-04-16
Also published as: NO334865B1; WO2012169901A1; NO20110836A1; EP2718529A4

Abstract

Door frame (11) for mounting of a door, the door frame being adapted for adaption to relevant wall thickness, comprising a primary component (12) comprising a side part (13) and a connection part (14) provided with a groove ((15). The primary component (12) is designed for permanent attachment to a wall (21) in a door opening. A secondary component (22) comprises a side part (23) and a connection part (24) designed as a tongue adapted to the groove (15) of the primary component (12). The primary component (12) is designed for attachment to wall by means of wall screws (18) through inner flange (16) of the groove while connection part (24) of secondary component (22) is arranged for detachably being tightly squeezed to the primary component (12) by means of non-penetrating screws (21) through outer groove flange (17).

Description

Door frame

The present invention comprises a system for efficient mounting of doors in a door opning of a wall and more precicely a door frame as stated in the preamble of claim 1. Background

Traditionally doors have been mounted in door frames that are adapted to the relevant door opening by means of a door frame as well as boards and casings being adapted on the site. Furthermore there has been a need for adapting to relevant wall thickness by using a door frame of exact width. Also the adaption of the door frame to a possibly slanting or uneven opening for the door has been handled by a significant manual effort to ensure that the frame is mounted without tension and in level.

Lately more versatile solutions have been developed in which the door frame is assembled by two extractable elements which are adaptable to different wall thicknesses. Such solutions are described e.g. in GB patent No. 2 275 716, US patent No. 3 757 473 and US patent application No. 2001 023557.

Aside from being extractable and thereby able to accommodate walls of different thicknesses, the mounting of these are rather conventional and does not provide as large labour reduction as desirable when mounting and neither the possibility of reuse which could be desirable. There is thus still a need for improvements in this field in order to make the door frames more versatile in practice, easier to assemble and disassemble for reassembly, e.g. in connection with changing or repairing a wall, in particular changes that involves change of the wall thickness.

Objectives

It is an object of the present invention to provide a door frame assembly that is easy when mounting a door, allowing quick assembly, easy adaption to different wall thicknesses, easy adaption to different daylight openings and possible unevenness and, not the least, an assembly that allows visible parts of the door frame to be undamaged on the mounting so that and disassembly/ reassembly may be made as easy as the first mounting assembly. The present invention

The above mentioned objects are achieved by the present invention which consists of a door frame as defined by claim 1.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed by the dependent claims. The door frame according to the present invention generally comprises two components hereafter designated a primary component and a secondary component. The purpose of these designations is generally to distinguish between the two in the following description. In addition the primary component has to be mounted first and the secondary component thereafter. It is, however, not such that any of the components is more important than the other. Both of them are important and it is the interaction between the two on assembly, use and possible disassembly that constitutes the uniqueness of the present invention.

The present invention allows a mounting of the primary component in a manner that secures the door frame permanently to the wall in a manner that substantially corresponds to how some prior art door frames with thickness adaption are mounted. The mounting is simple in that the space between door frame and wall edge is maintained by means of a single row of wall screws or

"anchors" that at their back end are particularly adapted to the screw opening in an inner groove flange of the primary component of the door frame. Inner groove flange is furthermore normally reinforced on the side facing the wall with a reinforcement that together with the screw contributes to holding the door frame at a fixed, defined distance from the wall. An element of a limited flexibility can envelop the screw between the door frame and the wall to further stabilize the primary component of the door frame subsequent its mounting, independent of distance between door frame and wall. IF the distance is large between door frame and wall, especially long wall screws are used. Also in connection to the wall surface, a plate surrounding the wall screw is typically used to interact with the screw with regard to holding the primary component at a fixed distance from the walls end surface facing the door frame.

The primary component of the door frame comprises at one side what corresponds to a wall skirting board which with traditional mounting has to be adapted and mounted separately as a subsequent step. When mounting of the primary component this side part is positioned adjacent and mainly parallel with the wall surface. The secondary component of the door frame is pushed into the primary component after that the latter has been attached to the end surface of the wall at all sides. Generally the secondary component is pushed into the primary component until a sealing mainly like a sealing on the primary component comes to rest against the wall surface. With a suitable tool the secondary component is then screwed onto the primary component with a non-penetrating screw, preferably with a screw having an even and non-sharp front end that does not scratch or harm the secondary component. The secondary component is not screwed to the wall, only to the primary component of the door frame.

Below the present invention is described in further detail in the form of an exemplary

embodiment as shown in the attached drawings in which

Figure 1 shows a mounting in which the first (primary) component of the door frame according to the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a mounting of an additional component that completes the door frame according to the present invention.

Primary component 12 is positioned adjacent to a wall as illustrated by Fig. 1 with side part 13 adjacent to a wall surface and with connection part 14 just outside the end surface 28 of the wall 25. By means of wall screws 18 the connection part 14 of the primary component and more precisely the inner groove flange of same is attached to the end surface 28 of the wall 25 in such a manner that the side part 13 or preferably a sealing 26 on side part 13 is brought to rest against the wall surface. Primary component 12 has an outer groove flange 17 outside the inner groove flange 16 at a distance defining the groove 15. Typically prefabricated holes 19 for the wall screws are evenly spaced to secure a stable attachment of the door frame's primary component. A reinforcing plate is preferably arranged at the inside of inner groove flange to reinforce the flange. Optionally this may have the form of a continuous rail along the length of the primary component 12 of the door frame. There may also be a reinforcement disc 32, preferably circular, that surrounds the wall screw 18 where this enters the wall end surface 28.

In order to direct the wall screw 18 to inner groove flange and position a tool (dotted) up to the back end of the wall screw 18, holes 20 are arranged in outer groove flange 17 as extensions of the holes 19 in inner groove flange, the holes 20 having at least as large diameter as the holes 19 and in practice somewhat larger diameter.

The wall screw 18 is close to its back end provided with a threaded section that corresponds to internal threads in the holes 19 in inner groove flange 16. The interaction between wall screw 18, groove flange, reinforcement plate 31, reinforcement disc 32 and connection between outer thread section of the wall screw 18 and the wall itself, contributes to holding the primary component in s table position without a direct support from the wall. However, a sleeve 33 of a material of limited flexibility may be applied between the reinforcement plate 31 and the reinforcement disc 32 to further support the door frame's primary component. Such a sleeve may have an opening (not shown) in its periphery to allow it to be pushed onto the wall screw after the latter has penetrated the wall surface 28. In this manner it is also possible to choose and change sleeve 33 among sleeves of different lengths to simplify adaption to slanting openings.

Attention is now drawn to Figure 2. When primary component 12 of the door frame according to the present invention has been securely attached to the wall 25 along mainly the entire extension of the door frame, horizontally and vertically, it is time to mount the secondary component 22 of the door frame. The connection part 24 of this has the shape of a tongue (as of tongue and goove) that fits into the groove 15 of the primary component 12 as shown by the drawing. Secondary component is pushed into the groove 15 of the primary component 12 until its side part 23, or preferably a sealing 27 along the side part 23, comes tightly to rest against the wall surface.

Especially adapted non-penetrating screws 21 are screwed into the outer screw holes 20 in outer groove flange 17 until tightly contacting the outer side of the connecting part 24of the secondary component 22 thereby locking it to the primary component. By optionally providing a small protrusion 31 at the inner side of the connection part 24 of the secondary component , limited in extension to a region within the groove beyond the screw 21 (to the left of the screw in the drawing), the force from the screw 21 will squeeze the sealing 27 of the secondary component's side part 23 even tighter against the wall surface and simultaneously, and with the same force, pull the sealing 26 of the primary component's side part 13 to a tighter fit against the opposite wall surface as indicated with the dotted lines near the two sealings 26, 27. Tightening of the secondary component 22 to the primary component 12 thus also ensures a tight connection of the door frame of the present invention to the wall.

Another unique feature is the fact that the non-penetrating screws ensures that the secondary component remains undamaged and unblemished of the mounting and can be disassembled and reassembled if so desired. In a later repair or change of the wall, the same door frame may be used again. Even if a new layer is added to the wall in the form of wall plates or tiles, changing the wall thickness, the door frame may be used again.

The non-penetrating screws 21 are flat at their outer end and may be provided with a rubber peg or the like providing high friction against connection part 17. The non-penetrating screws 21 are typically shorter than the thickness of outer groove flange 17 so that they become completely disappear into the groove flange and can be hidden be a plastic cap or the like.

As explained above only the primary component 12 is attached to the wall 25 while the secondary component 22 is attached only to the primary component 12 and remains completely free from damage and unblemished by the mounting. At the same time the primary component and the secondary component interact in manner making the free ends of their respective side parts 13 and 23, squeeze in towards the wall 25 making a tight fit. By use of sealings 26 and 27 on respective side parts a moisture tight barrier can be established which is particularly useful for doors mounted in environments where moisture is to be expected.

A variant which deviates somewhat from the variant shown I Figures 1 and 2 is shown in Figures 3 and 4. With regard to the secondary component there is no difference. With regard to the primary component 12 this exhibits a profile element 16' which is not an integral part of the connection part 14 but which is attached to same e.g. with nails or screws. This profile element 16' has two tongues 161, 162 that generally correspond to inner groove flange 16 in Figures 1 and 2. In addition it has a tongue 163 extending along outer groove flange 17, at the inside of same. All tongues 161-163 of the profile element have through holes for wall screw 12 and for nonpenetrating screw 21. These holes have internal threads. A sleeve 33 with external threads fitting internal threads in tongue 161, is screwed into tongue 161. The sleeve 33 ends in a plate 331 which on mounting comes to rest against the relevant wall surface. The wall screw 18 is screwed into the wall until its head 181 comes to rest against a shoulder in the sleeve 33, said shoulder typically being the inside of the plate 331.

As shown by Figure 3 the secondary component 22 at its connection part 24, is tightly squeezed to the primary component 12 by means of the non-penetrating screw 21 which is screwed through outer groove flange 17 and tongue 163 of the profile element 16'.

Figure 4 shows a situation where the wall is thicker than in Figure 3, and where the secondary component is pulled so far out in the groove 15 of the primary component 12 that it is not residing between the holes in outer groove flange and in the profile element 16'. In this case the nonpenetrating screw 21, which can have same thread as the sleeve 33, is screwed through both the outer groove flange 17 and tongues 163 and 162 of the profile element. By tightening the nonpenetrating screw 21 in this manner, the tongues 162 and 163 of the profile element 16' are pulled against each other and secures the secondary component even though there is no contact between this and the non-penetrating screw 21.

The profile element 16' is preferably an element extruded in aluminium, other light metal or a synthetic material of suitable material and strength.

Claims

1. Door frame (11) for mounting of a door, the door frame being adapted for adaption to relevant wall thickness, comprising a primary component (12) comprising a side part (13) and a connection part (14) provided with a groove ((15), said primary component (12) being designed for permanent attachment to a wall (21) in a door opening and a secondary component (22) comprising a side part (23) and a connection part (24) designed as a tongue adapted to the groove (15) of the primary component (12), characterized in that the primary component (12) is designed for attachment to wall by means of wall screws (18) through inner flange (16) of the groove while connection part (24) of secondary component (22) is arranged for detachably being tightly squeezed to the primary component (12) by means of non-penetrating screws (21) through outer groove flange (17).

2. Door frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the primary component (12) is arranged for screw attachment to wall by means of screw holes (19) in the inner groove flange (16), said screw holes (19) being arranged along a straight line.

3. Door frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that outer groove flange (17) has outer screw holes (20) arranged as extensions of screw openings (19) in inner groove flange (16), said outer screw holes (20) being threaded for accommodating non-penetrating screws (21).

4. Door frame as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the non-penetrating screws (21) are provided with elastic material at their tip.

5. Door frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the primary component (12) and the secondary component (22) are adapted to each other in such a manner that the opening between the side part (13) of the primary component (12) and the side part (23) of the secondary component (22) is moderately conical with less distance at the free ends of the side parts (13, 23) than at the connection to respective connection parts (14, 24).

6. Door frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the side part (13) of the primary component (12) of the door frame is provided with a preferably moisture proof sealing (26) close to the free end of side part (13).

7. Door frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the side part (23) of the secondary component (22) is provided with a preferably moisture proof sealing (27) close to the free end of side part (23).

8. Door frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the side of inner groove flange (16) arranged to face a wall, is provided with a reinforcing plate (31) at least in the area around the screw holes (19) .

9. Door frame as claimed in claim 1 or 8, characterized in that each wall screw (18) is accompanied by a plate (32) designed to be squeezed against a wall surface (28) by the wall screw (18) when mounting the primary component (12).

10. Door frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a closed or open sleeve (33) by a flexible material is arranged to envelop the wall screw (18) in the area inside the inner groove flange (16).

11. Door frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the secondary component (22) at the free end of the connection part (24) is provided with a protrusion (31) designed for contacting inner groove flange (16) of the primary component (12).

12. Door frame as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that inner groove flange (16) is comprised by a profiled element (16') which constitutes a non-integral part of the primary component (12) and which is provided with a tongue (163) along outer groove flange (17) and at least one tongue (162) constituting an inner groove flange so that the groove (15) is defined by the tongues (162, 163), said tongues (162, 163) having through holes provided with threads corresponding to external threads of non-penetrating screws (21) and external threads of sleeve (33).

13. Door frame as claimed by claim 12, characterized in that the at least one tongue constituting an inner groove flange, comprises two tongues (161, 162) both having through holes provided with threads.

14. Door frame as claimed by claim 12, characterized in that the profile element (16') is an element designed in a material chosen among synthetic material and light metal.