GB2255123A

GB2255123A - Demountable door

Info

Publication number: GB2255123A
Application number: GB9206117A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Marvin
Original assignee: EXITILE Ltd
Current assignee: EXITILE Ltd
Priority date: 1991-03-19
Filing date: 1992-03-19
Publication date: 1992-10-28
Anticipated expiration: 2012-03-19
Also published as: GB2255123B; GB9206117D0; GB9105838D0

Abstract

An upright access panel in a tiled wall comprises a door 10 pivotable about a vertical axis defined by coaxial pins 12, 13 projecting inwardly of the aperture of a frame 11. L-shaped slots are formed in top 29 and bottom 30 sides of the door. The slots have closed ends against which the pins 12, 13 abut due to the weight of the door when mounted in the frame and extend in opposite directions away from their closed ends before opening to the same face of the door. The door can be demounted from the frame by lifting it (arrow B) so that pins 12 and 13 travel in the slots away from their closed ends and into alignment with their open ends. Thereafter if the door is moved in the direction of arrow C it will be disengaged from the pins and may be removed from the frame aperture. <IMAGE>

Description

"DEMOUNTABLE DOOR" This invention relates to a dewcuntable door of the kind swinging between open and closed positions about an upright axis in a frame and removable from the frame when open. An example of the use of such a door is as an access panel or hatch in a tiled wall.

Tiled walls are popular in nsdern buildings, but access panels have to be provided at intervals to permit servicing of pipework or electrical facilities concealed by the wall. An access panel used in such a situation should be as inconspicuous as possible when closed. Its outer face should be flush with the wall surrounding the frame and will have affixed to it one or more of the tiles which surround the frame. Such a design does not lend itself to the use of conventionsl hinges and so it is customary to swing the door about a pivotal axis within and intermediate the sides of the frame.Pins projecting from upper and lower sides of the door engage in respective openings in the upper and lower lower mEmbers of the frame to provide the pivotal mounting nears.

To provide maximum access through the frame and to prevent the door iw ommcding a workman reaching through the frame aperture it is desireable that the door should be easily removable from the frame after being swung open. To permit this it has been proposed that the lower of the said openings, instead of being a round hole, should be elongated longitudinally of the lower frame member. Having opened the door it is then possible to move it from the vertical toward a horizontal position whereby the lower pin of the door travels from one end to the other of the elongated slot and eventually emerges fran it.It is then possible to lower the door until the upper pin also disengages fran its slot.

This srrangement is satisfactory for small doors, where the radius represented by the two pins is short and the curvature of the circle through which the lower pin mazes praportionally great, but doors of relatively greater vertical extent will require a greater elongation of the lower slot before the lower pin will disengage fran it. In the case of relatively large doors the lower slot would have to be elongated to an unacceptable extent and disengagement of the door from the frame and its subsequent reinsertion would be difficult operations, especially in the case of heavy doors.

A principal object of the present invention is to improve upon this prior art proposal by FzxsdMiing a door which can be relatively easily demounted from its frame and subsequently reinstalled therein with a minirrum of turning movement between the vertical and horizontal positions.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided the assembly of a derountable door pivotable between open and closed positions in an upright frame, wherein upper and lower sides of the door and upper and lower members of the frame are provided respectively with openings and with pins engageable in the openings to provide an upright pivotal axis for the door offset in the frame aperture toward one lateral edge of the door, wherein at least one said opening is in the form of a slot of angled shape having a closed end against which the associated pin will bear under the weight of the door, when the door is mounted in the frame, and an open end which opens perpendicularly to the plane of the door or frame aperture at a position spaced longitudinally of the door side or frame member in which the slot is farmed fran said closed end of the slot, the arrangement being such that by lifting the door said associated pin may be caused relatively to move in the slot away from said closed end thereof into alignment with said open end thereof and the door my thereafter be demoanted from the frame by m3vm g the door axially of the open end of said slot.

Said slot is preferably L-shaped.

Each said opening may be in the form of a slot of angled shape each having a closed end against which the associated pin will bear under the weight of the door, when the door is meted in the frame, and an open end which opens perpendicelarly to the plane of the door or frame aperture at a position spaced longitudinally of the door side or fame member in which the slot is formed from said closed end thereof, the open ends of the two slots opening to the same face of the door or frame and the slots extending longitudinally of the door side or frame member in which they are formed in opposite directions relative to the pivotal axis of the door defined by the closed ends of the slots.

In a preferred embodiment upper and lower sides of the door are provided with respective Shaped slots having respective first limbs which open to the same face of the door and respective second limbs extending longitudinally of the respective door side to a closed end, the second limb of the upper slot extending from the first limb thereof toward, and the second limb of the lower slot extending from the first limb thereof away from, said one lateral edge of the door, and top and bottom members of the frame having inwardly projecting pins respectively engageable in the slots.

Said pins are preferably coaxially aligned to define said pivotal axis of the door and said closed ends of the slots are preferably equidistant from said one lateral edge of the door.

The face of the door to which the or each slot opens my be a rear face of the door and the front face of the door my be tiled to provide an access panel in a tiled wall.

A preferred embcdiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a door in accordance with the invention Figure 2 is a partial view of the door of Figure 1 on an enlarged scale to show more clearly the configuration of the slots therein, and Figure 3 is a detail on an enlarged scale taken on the line III-III of Figure 1.

The door 10 illustrated hangs in a vertical, rectangular frame 11 by means of pivot pins 12 and 13 projecting coaxially inwardly of the frame aperture and engaging in respective slots 14 and 15 of the door. The pin 12 projects downward fran an upper member 16 of the frame and the pin 13 projects upward from a lower lower mEmber 17 of the frame. Additionally the frame has side nre#ers 26 and 27.The slots 14 and 15 are provided respectively in the top 29 and in the bottan 30 sides or edges of the door, and additionalIy the door has a lateral side or edge 31 which, when the door is closed, is adjacent the side 26 of the frame and a lateral side edge 32 which, when the door is closed, is adjacent the side 27 of the frame.

As is clearer from Figure 2, the pins 12 and 13 are coaxial and define an axis x about which the door 10 is pivotable between a closed position, in which its center face is flush with the outer face of the frame and it closes the frame aperture, and an open position such as that of Figure 1. This upright vertical axis x is offset from the centre of the frame aperture toward side 26 of the frame and side edge 31 of the door.

Each of the slots 14 and 15 is Shaped, having a first lint 18 and 19 which opens at 20 and 21 to the rear face of the door 10 and a second limb 22 and 23 which extends fran the first limb longitudally of the respective upper and lower side of the door to a closed end 24 and 25. However whereas the second limb 22 of the upper slot 14 extends from the first lint 18 thereof toward the side 31 of the door the second lint 23 of the lower slot 15 extends from the first lint 19 thereof toward the opposite side 32 of the door.

Because the pivotal axis x of the door is offset from its centre the side 32 of the door will tend to d m p, or has a downward moment as represented by arrow A in Figure 1. Gravity thus holds the pins 12 and 13 at the closed ends 24 and 25 of lints 22 and 23 of the slots. However if after being swung open the edge 32 of the door is lifted so that the door rotates in the direction of arrow B in Figure 1 the pin 12 will travel to the junction of the lints of slot 14 and the pin 15 will travel to the junction of the lints of the slot 15.If while held in this "skewed" position the door is then moved in the direction of arrow C of Figure 1 the pins 12 and 13 will emerge fran the open ends 20 and 21 of the first lints of the slots, enabling the door to be taken away from the frame.

When it is desired to replace the door in the frame the procedure is reversed. The door is passed partly through the frame aperture to the left of the pins 12 and 13 as viewed in Figure 1 and "skewed" in the direction of arrow B until the open ends 20 and 21 of the slots align with the respective pins. The door is moved in the direction counter to arrow C until the pins 12 and 13 are received in the slots and move to the junctions of their libs. If the door is then released gravity will rotate it in the direction counter to arrow B until the pins reach the closed ends 24 and 25 of the slots, whereupon the door can be swung about axis x to the position closing the aperture of frame 11.

As is known per se the door may be in the form of a metal tray in which one or more tiles are inserted. If these match the tiles surrounding the frame on the wall the door will be pratically invisible when closed.

Particularly in the case of a tiled door surrounded by tiles it is important that the predetermined clearance between the door and frame should be maintained. Contact between fragile tiles cannot be permitted and if the door were to drop over a period of time the tiles on the wall below the door might be damaged. Therefore there is welded to the side 30 of the door and to what will be its rear face, in use, a bearing plate 50 of Z-section dlmensioned and positioned so that its web portion will provide a bearing for the pin 13. The door is thus supported on the wear-resistant plate 50 and a predetermined clearance between the bottom 30 of the door and the bottom 17 of the frame will be maintained in use of the door. A similar Z-section plate my be provided at the top of the door and is indicated at 51 in Figure 2, although if this contacts the pin 12, which is not essential, it will have no weight-bearing function.

It will be apparant that modifications of the embodiment illustrated my be made without departure from the scope of the appended claims. One of the Shaped slots may be dispensed with and replaced by a simple, round opening in a case where there will be sufficient clearance to disengage the associated pin by tilting the door. Moreover in another modification pins projecting from the door may be engageable in Shaped slots in the upper and lower members of the frame.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. The assembly of a demountable door pivotable between open and closed positions in an upright frame, wherein upper and lower sides of the door and upper and lower members of the frame are prcvidEd respectively with openings and with pins engageable in the openings to provide an upright pivotal axis for the door offset in the frame aperture toward one lateral edge of the door, wherein at least one said opening opening is in the form of a slot of angled shape having a closed end against which the associated pin will bear under the weight of the door, when the door is mounted in the frame, and an open end which opens perpendicularly to the plane of the door or frame aperture at a position spaced longitudinally of the door side or frame member in which the slot is forms from said closed end of the slot, the arrangement being such that by lifting the door said associated pin may be caused relatively to nwrve in the slot away from said closed end thereof into alignment with said open end thereof and the door may thereafter be d#(a2nted from the frame by moving the door axially of the open end of said slot.

2. The assembly claimed in claim 1, wherein said slot is L-shaped.

3. The assembly claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each said opening is in the form of a slot of angled shape each having a closed end against which the associated pin will bear under the weight of the door, when the door is mounted in the frame, and an open end which opens perpendicularly to the plane of the door or frame aperture at a position spaced longitudnally of the door side or fame member in which the slot is formed from said closed end thereof, the open ends of the two slots opening to the same face of the door or frame and the slots #ctending longitudinally of the door side or frame member in which they are formed in opposite directions relative to the pivotal axis of the door defined by the closed ends of the slots.

4. The assembly claimed in claim 3, wherein upper and lower sides of the door are provided with respective L-shaped slots having respective first limbs which open to the same face of the door and respective second lints extending longitudailly of the respective door side to a closed end, the second limb of the upper slot extending from the first lizb thereof toward and the second limb of the lower slot extending from the first limb thereof away from said one lateral edge of the door, and top and bottam members of the frame having inwardly projecting pins respectively engageable in the slots.

5. The assembly claimed in claim 4, wherein said pins are coaxially aligned to define said pivotal axis of the door and wherein said closed ends of the slots are equidistant from said one lateral edge of the door.

6. The assembly claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the face of the door to which the or each slot opens is a rear face of the door and wherein the front face of the door is tiled to provide an access panel in a tiled wall.

7. The assembly of a door pivotable between open and closed positions in an upright frame substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accampanying drawings.