GB2278811A

GB2278811A - Trolley for use in hanging a door

Info

Publication number: GB2278811A
Application number: GB9408976A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Tsappi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-05-07
Filing date: 1994-05-05
Publication date: 1994-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 2014-05-05
Also published as: GB9408976D0; CY2066B1; GB2278811B; GB9309406D0

Abstract

A trolley for use in hanging a door comprises a base portion 2 adapted to carry the bottom of a door in an upright position, and castor wheels 8 which are adjustable to space the base from the floor by a predetermined distance. A securing strap 12 holds the door in position. The castors may be replaced by a roller which is adjustable in height (figure 3). A stabilising framework may be used in conjunction with the trolley (figure 4). A work surface (59) and vice may be added (figures 7 to 10), and the surface may be foldable to provide a container. A roller attachment may be used with the trolley for use on rough terrain, and the trolley may then be used for mounting fence panels (figures 11, 12). <IMAGE>

Description

"A Door Trolley and a method of using the same" The present invention relates to a door trolley and a method of using a door trolley to hang a door onto a door frame.

Doors are normally hung onto door frames and the positions of the hinges marked by placing the door in an ajar position against the frame, manoeuvring the door to an appropriate clearance above the floor, marking the door frame to indicate the intended positions of the door hinges, removing the door from the door frame and creating recesses in the door frame, usually by chiselling, to receive the door hinges. This is an awkward process as the door must usually be spaced above the ground by a small distance to allow clearance for carpet and the like and to allow for any expansion of the door when fitted. The door must be held in place in the elevated position whilst the hinge positions are marked which is a difficult operation for a person to accomplish on their own.Additionally, when the door is to be hung, the door must be positioned ajar and held at the appropriate clearance above the floor to enable the hinges on the door to be secured, by screws, to the door frame. Again, for a person working alone, to lift a door in the air whilst screwing the hinges onto the frame is a very difficult task. Similar problems are experienced when hanging UPVC and aluminium doors.

A known method of hanging a door involves providing a pair of wedges on either side of the door which can be knocked in place to lift the door to a desired height, thereby allowing the hinge positions to be accurately marked on the door frames. However, this approach still requires two people to hang the door as the door is not stable when the hinge positions are being marked or when the hinges are being fixed to the frame.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method in order to reduce, alleviate or eliminate the problems of the present conventional method of hanging a door.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention there is provided a door trolley for use in hanging a door onto a door frame, the door trolley comprising a base portion adapted to carry the bottom of a door and support the door in a substantially upright position, spacer means to space the base from the floor by a predetermined distance and roller means attached to the spacer means to allow the door trolley to move relative to the floor.

In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of hanging a door on a door frame using a door trolley having a base to carry the bottom of a door, spacer means to space the base from the floor and roller means, which method comprises the steps of: placing the bottom of a door on the base in a substantially upright position, spacing the base from the floor by the spacer means, rolling the door trolley towards the door frame using the roller means, securing the door to the door frame, and rolling the door trolley away from the door when the door has been hung.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is perspective view of a door trolley embodying the present invention supporting a door which is partly cut-away; Figure 2 is a cross section through the door trolley of Figure 1 illustrating the lower part of the door; Figure 3 is a part sectional view of a door trolley comprising a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a door stabiliser when in use with a door supported by the trolley of Figure 1, part of the door being cut-away; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a further door trolley embodying the present invention fitted with a door support, carrying a door which is partly cut-away;; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a door trolley fitted with a stabiliser and adapted to receive a workbench surface; Figure 7 is a side view of a door trolley of Figure 6 showing the workbench surface attached to the door stabiliser; Figure 8 is a side view of a vice for use with the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 6 and 7; Figure 9 is a perspective view of a workbench surface and a workbench strut, parts of the workbench bench surface being shown in phantom; Figure 10 is a perspective view of the workbench surface of Figure 9, the walls of the workbench surface being shown in an upright and locked configuration, parts of the walls being shown in phantom; Figure 11 is an end view of a door trolley embodying the present invention fitted to a roller;; Figure 12 is a side view of a door trolley embodying the present invention fitted with a roller shown in use mounting a fence panel to a fence post; and Figure 13 is a side view of the door trolley carrying a workbench surface formed into a box and provided with a fixed roller and a steerable roller.

The present invention provides a door trolley for carrying a door. The door trolley spaces the door from the floor by a set distance and allows the door to be moved toward and away from a door frame to assist in the marking of the door frame and the hanging of the door.

Figure 1 shows a door trolley 1 comprising a first embodiment of the present invention carrying a door. The trolley 1 comprises a base 2 for supporting the door. The base 2 of the trolley 1 is a horizontal rectangular plate having two opposed longitudinal sides 3 and two opposed relatively short lateral sides 4. The end regions of both longitudinal sides 3 are formed with upright tabs 5. Each tab 5 terminates in a wing portion 6 which projects outwardly away from the base 2 to provide support for a vertical castor leg 7. The castor leg 7 carries a castor wheel 8 at its lower end. The castor leg 7 has a threaded portion which engages a corresponding threaded aperture in a boss 9 mounted on the wing portion 6. An appropriate lock nut (not shown) may be provided. The threaded portion comprises the adjustable spacer means for the castor wheel 8.The castor leg 7 extends downwardly such that the lower part of the castor wheel 8 is positioned beneath the undersurface of the base 2, to contact the floor. The four castor wheels 8 allow the trolley to move freely on the floor.

As seen in Figure 1, the end of each of the front left hand and the rear right hand wing portions 6, 6a is formed with an upturned lug 10 which has a horizontal slot 11 adapted to receive a securing strap 12. The provision of a strap 12 is optional but, as shown in Figure 1, the strap 12 passes diagonally over the top of the door and is tightened by a manually releasable lock 13 on the strap 12 to retain the door in a substantially upright position.

To hang a door using a trolley 1, the door to be hung is placed on the base 2 such that the base 2 is located under the centre of gravity of the door. The castor legs 7 are then adjusted (if they have not been appropriately adjusted previously) by screwing the leg 7 into or out of the respective wing portion 6 to space the door above the ground by a predetermined clearance D, for example 0.5cm.

To prevent the door from toppling over when being carried by the door trolley, the securing strap 12 is fastened to the lug 10 of a wing portion 6, passed diagonally over the top of the door and secured on the lug 10 of the wing portion 6a on the diagonally opposite side of the door. With the door safely secured on the trolley 1, the trolley 1 is wheeled to the door frame such that the hinges on the door are aligned with their intended positions on the door frames, the door being effectively ajar. The appropriate markings can be made on the door frame to indicate the positions of the hinges. The door is then wheeled away from the frame. Portions of the door frame are then chiselled out to accommodate the door hinges and the door is wheeled back into the ajar position. The door hinges are secured to the door frame whilst the door is held by the door trolley.When the door has been securely hung on the door frame, the securing strap can be released and the door trolley removed by screwing the castor legs 7 back into the wing portions 6 and sliding the door trolley along the length of the door toward the free edge of the door.

The castor legs 7 are adjustable as shown in Figure 2 so that the floor clearance D can be determined by the person hanging the door, and to facilitate removal of the trolley from the door when the door has been hung. The castor legs 7 are individually adjustable to accommodate uneven or sloped floor surfaces.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 3, the width of the horizontal base 2 is substantially larger than the width of the bottom of the door such that a strip 14 of base 2 is visible on either side of the door. At each end of each strip 14 an aperture 15 is provided to form a respective pair of apertures at each end of the trolley. A spacer rod 16 is slidably received within each aperture 15 and is formed with pre-drilled horizontal through holes 17 or premachined slots along its length which can receive a spring biased locking pin 18 housed in the base 2 to prevent the spacer rods 16 from moving within the aperture 15. The lower end of the spacer rods 16 in each of the said pairs of apertures 15 are provided with facing blind bores 19 which receive the opposed ends of a shaft 20 which supports a horizontal roller 21 located under the base 2.

A predetermined door clearance distance D is set by pulling the locking pin 18 out of the through hole 17 against its spring bias and sliding the spacer rod 16 relative to the base 2 thus moving the end of the shaft 20 supporting the roller 21 towards or away from the base 2 thereby setting the clearance distance D. When the desired distance D is achieved, the locking pin 18 is released and located in one of the through holes 17 thus securing the spacer rod 16. When all the spacer rods 16 are set in their correct positions the door may be rolled into position with the door frame by the rollers 21. This embodiment does not require the use of the upstanding tab portions 5 or the wing portions 6 of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Whilst the width between the opposite wing portions 6 described in the first embodiment or the width of the strips 14 in the second embodiment may be increased to provide additional stability, there may also provided, a stabiliser 30, shown in Figure 4, which comprises an adjustable securing band 31 which surrounds the girth of the door and which is formed with downwardly and outwardly extending leg portions 32. Each leg portion 32 of the stabiliser 30 is formed at its lower end with a foot 33 which contacts the floor to prevent the door from toppling sideways when upright. Optionally, each foot 33 may be provided with a ground engaging support wheel 34 to facilitate the sliding of the door towards and away from the door frame. In the embodiment shown, the stabiliser 30 is provided with four legs 32, two on either side of the door.

It is envisaged that the stabiliser 30 shown in Figure 4 can be structurally combined with the door trolley 1 (as shown by the dotted lines) to constitute an integral unit.

As an alternative to providing the castor leg 7 with a threaded portion, it is envisaged that a standard off-the-shelf castor and leg unit is provided. The standard leg is inserted, in tight fit engagement, in a bore formed in the portion of a threaded stud, which stud comprises the equivalent to the threaded portion of the leg.

The trolley may be provided, at one or both ends, with a stop which firmly locates the door, such that when the door is pushed to cause it to roll toward or away from the door frame, the door does not slide off the trolley 1.

Other methods of securing the door to the trolley are also envisaged. As shown in Figure 5 a structural bracket 40 may be provided extending up a substantial portion of the door. The bracket 40 is firmly attached to the trolley 1 to prevent the door from toppling over with respect to the trolley 1.

In circumstances where heavy doors are being mounted, the upstanding tabs 5 and wings 6 benefit from reinforcement by the addition of a strut 41 (as shown in Figures 6 and 7) for resisting any deformation of the tabs 5 and wings 6. Further, to minimise deformation of the trolley in other areas, the trolley components such as the base 2, leg 52, bracing member 54, stabliliser leg 55 and foot 56 can be manufactured from angle iron as shown in Figure 6.

The trolley 1, the stabiliser 30 and the bracket 40 may be constructed from metal, synthetic materials, wood or combinations thereof.

The trolley 1 can accept doors of varying widths.

One embodiment of such a trolley is shown in Figures 6 and 7. The base 2 of the trolley 1 is manufactured from two parallel lengths of angle iron. The upright tabs 5 and wing portion 6 of the trolley 1 are identical to those shown in Figure 1 of the previously described trolley 1.

The two lengths of angle iron are joined together by a cross member 50 which is fixedly mounted at respective ends to the angle irons. To increase the stability of the trolley 1 when carrying a door, a detachable stabiliser 30 is provided. The stabiliser 30 comprises four vertically oriented legs 52 having at their ends feet 53 which are each bolted onto a respective wing portion 6. The feet 53 are formed with slots to enable the legs 52 to be moved toward and away from one another thereby to either narrow or widen the gap therebetween. The upper ends of the legs 52 are joined by bracing members 54 which extend parallel to the length of the base 2 of the trolley 1. A stabiliser leg 55 is fixedly mounted where the legs 52 and bracing members 54 are joined. The stabiliser leg 55 extends downwardly and outwardly from the top of the leg 52 and is formed at its lower end with a foot 56 which contacts the floor to prevent a door mounted on the trolley from toppling sideways when upright. As shown in Figure 6 and 7, another form of stabiliser leg can be provided which consists of an R-shaped support member 57. The support member 57 is releasably attached by means of a spacer/fixing rod 51 to one of the legs 52 to act as a stabiliser and, more particularly, if the trolley 1 is to be used as a workbench, acts as a stabiliser and support for the workbench. As shown in Figure 6, the R-shaped support member 57 is particularly well suited to receiving a horizontally oriented arm 58 which extends from the top of the leg 52 and remains supported by the R-shaped support member 57.The arm 58 together with the bracing members 54 can receive the workbench surface, as shown in Figure 9, so that the trolley 1 can be used as a workbench.

Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view taken from the other end of the trolley 1 to that shown in Figure 6 and shows the trolley 1 provided with the detachable stabiliser 30 as well as a workbench surface 59 which is attached to and rests upon the horizontal arm 58.

Figure 8 shows a cross-sectional view of a vice which can be attached to one of the bracing members 54 carrying the workbench surface 59 when the trolley 1 is used as a workbench. The vice comprises a fixed jaw and a movable jaw having two guide rails located on either side of a threaded rod connecting the jaws. The guide rails (not shown in Figure 8) are secured to the movable jaw, one on either side of the threaded rod, and slide through holes in the fixed jaw, the threaded rod enabling the jaws to move relative to one another.

Figure 9 shows the workbench surface 59 in more detail. The workbench surface 59 comprises an elongate main base plate 60 to the longitudinal edges of which are attached sidewalls 61 and to the lateral edges of which are attached front and rear walls 62. The elongate main base plate 60 is mounted on an elongate strut 63 which is mounted, as shown in Figure 7, on the horizontal arm 58.

The height of the front and rear walls 62 is equal to the height of the side walls 61, the height of the walls 61 and 62 to be equal to half the width of the elongate main base plate. The length of the elongate main base plate is determined by the length of the side walls 61. The side walls 61 and front and rear walls 62 are hinged on the elongate main base plate 60. The side walls 61 can be folded underneath the base plate 60 and the front and rear walls 62 can lie horizontally as shown in Figure 9 on the respective ends of the elongate strut 63. In this horizontal position, the unhinged ends of the side walls 61, which have appropriate holes, can receive nuts and bolts to secure the side walls 61 through corresponding holes in the elongate strut 63 thus securing the workbench surface 59 to the elongate strut 63.

The elongate strut 63 is secured to the horizontal arm 58 by means of threaded studs and nuts, the threaded studs being inserted through holes in the horizontal arm 58.

In the folded position with the walls 61, 62 secured horizontally, the structure is usable as the workbench. However, when the side walls 61 and front and rear walls 62 are hinged into upright positions and locked together to form a box like structure as shown in Figure 10, the structure can be used as a box for carrying articles.

The castor wheels 8 are practical for indoor but are not best suited for outdoors in the garden or the like.

Accordingly, as shown in Figure 11, it is envisaged that a roller attachment 64 can be provided which comprises a mounting plate 65 for attachment across the two lengths of angle iron which form the base 2 of the trolley 1, a pair of fork members 66 which extend downwardly from the mounting plate 65 and a roller 67 for attachment by its axle 68 to respective fork members 66. Preferably, the axle 68 is mounted to the fork members 66 by means of wing nuts 69. The roller 67 has a relatively larger diameter to that of the castor wheels 8 thus allowing greater mobility over the rougher surfaces encountered in the garden or the like.

Figure 12 shows a door trolley 1 to be used also for mounting fence panels 70 onto fence posts 71 in a similar manner employed to mount doors onto door frames.

A roller 67, as shown in Figure 11, is mounted to the door trolley 1. The castor wheels 8 of the door trolley 1 may be used to adjust position of the fence panel 70 against the fence posts 71 by screwing the castor leg 7 either up or down with respect to the wing portion 6. Preferably, a plank or some other solid surface is placed under the castor wheel 8 to provide a firm standing.

As well as providing a roller 67, it is envisaged that a steerable roller 72 may also be provided. Such a steerable roller is shown in Figure 13 and consists of a mounting plate similar to that used with the roller 67 but which is pivotally mounted to a further mounting plate 73 so that the roller 72 is steerable. A handle 74 is provided for steering the roller 72.

In the arrangement shown in Figure 13 with the box 59 mounted and secured to the door trolley, a load carrying hand-truck is formed. If the box is suitably loaded, the arrangement forms a garden roller.

Claims

CLAINS:

1. A door trolley for use in hanging a door onto a door frame, the door trolley comprising a base portion adapted to support the bottom of a door, the door being in a substantially upright position, adjustable spacer means to vary the distance from the base to the floor and roller means attached to and supported by the adjustable spacer means to allow the door trolley to move relative to the floor.

2. A door trolley according to Claim 1, wherein a plurality of adjustable spacer means are provided, each being individually adjustable.

3. A door trolley according to Claim 2, wherein each adjustable spacer means comprises a threaded portion which co-operates with a threaded portion located on the base portion and wherein rotation of the threaded portion of the spacer means adjusts the distance from the base to the floor.

4. A door trolley according to Claim 2, wherein each adjustable spacer means is formed with recesses at predetermined locations along its length and the door trolley is provided with a recess engaging means which is engageable with a respective one of the recesses to set the distance from the base to the floor.

5. A door trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein the roller means comprises castors which are provided on castor legs.

6. A door trolley according to Claim 5, wherein the base portion is provided with upwardly extending tabs which are located on either side of the door and which terminate in outwardly extending wing portions, the wing portions receiving the spacer means and the spacer means comprising the castor legs.

7. A door trolley according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the roller means comprises a roller secured by the spacer means.

8. A door trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein means are provided to maintain the door in an upright position.

9. A door trolley according to Claim 8, wherein the means for maintaining the door in an upright position comprises a support which extends from the door trolley up a substantial portion of the length of the door thereby preventing the door from toppling over with respect to the trolley.

10. A door trolley according to Claim 8, wherein the means for maintaining the door in an upright position comprises a securing strap engageable with a top of the door and with opposite sides of the door trolley and tightening means for tightening the strap over the door.

11. A door trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein a stabiliser is provided which is engageable with the door at a suitable height such that a leg of the stabiliser is engageable with the floor to prevent the door from toppling over.

12. A door trolley according to Claim 11, wherein a leg of the stabiliser is provided with roller means to allow the stabiliser to roll relative to the floor.

13. A door trolley according to Claim 11 or 12, wherein the stabiliser is formed as an integral part of the door trolley.

14. A workbench including a trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein legs are provided for attachment to the trolley to support a workbench surface of the workbench.

15. A workbench according to Claim 14, wherein the workbench surface comprises a main base plate and four walls each hingedly mounted on a respected edge of the main base plate.

16. A workbench according to Claim 15, wherein the hinged walls can be hinged into upright positions and locked together to form a box.

17. A workbench according to any preceding claim, wherein an R-shaped stabiliser is provided having a first part extending horizontally for supporting the workbench surface and a second lower part for engaging with the floor to stabilise the workbench.

18. A door trolley according to any one of Claims 1 to 13, wherein the door trolley is provided with a roller having a larger diameter than the diameter of the roller means attached to and supported by the adjustable spacer means.

19. A door trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein the door trolley is suitable for mounting fence panels upon fence posts in an outdoor environment.

20. A trolley according to any preceding claim, wherein a further roller is provided, which further roller is steerable.

21. A method of hanging a door on a door frame using a door trolley having a base to carry the bottom of a door, spacer means to space the base from the floor and roller means, which method comprises the steps of: placing the bottom of a door on the base in a substantially upright position, spacing the base from the floor by the spacer means, rolling the door trolley towards the door frame using the roller means, securing the door to the door frame, and rolling the door trolley away from the door when the door has been hung.

22. A method according to Claim 21 further including the step of adjusting the spacer means to space the base from the floor by a desired distance.

23. A method according to Claim 21 or 22, further including the step of securing the door to the door trolley.

24. A door trolley substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

25. A method of hanging a door substantially as hereinbefore described.

26. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.