GB2382834A

GB2382834A - Door with angled edges

Info

Publication number: GB2382834A
Application number: GB0129320A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David John Eccleshall
Original assignee: Komfort Office Environments PLC
Current assignee: Komfort Office Environments PLC
Priority date: 2001-12-07
Filing date: 2001-12-07
Publication date: 2003-06-11
Anticipated expiration: 2021-12-07
Also published as: GB0129320D0; GB2382834B

Abstract

A door 1 comprises front and rear facings 2 secured to and spaced apart by a core 3, where the angle between at least one of the side edges 4 of the door and an adjoining facing is greater than 90 degrees. Preferably each side edge 4 of the door is angled at greater than 90 degrees. The door facings 2 may be of wood or plastics material, and the door may be reinforced to provide improved security. A seal 9 may be provided around the periphery of the door. Also defined is an assembly which comprises a doorframe with doorposts 5, a door and a handrail, where the doorpost edges 7 may also be angled.

Description

DOORS AND ASSEMBLIES OF DOORS AND DOORPOSTS This invention relates to doors and assemblies of doors and doorposts.

A conventional door comprises front and rear facings secured to and spaced apart by a core material. The core material defines upper, lower and side edges of the door. These edges conventionally lie in planes which are generally normal to the front and rear facings of the door and co-operate with similarly shaped edge surfaces of door posts and a head rail of the frame within which the door is mounted to provide a relatively close fit between the frame and the door when the latter is closed. Hinges secured to one door edge and the co-operating door post edge surface facilitate ease of opening and closing of the door.

When a door is closing it is sometimes the case that fingers become trapped between the adjoining edges of the door and the doorposts. Because of the shape and nature of the recesses defined between these surfaces, severe injury can occur. One object of this invention is to reduce the severity of such injuries.

The adjoining edges of the door, the doorposts and the head rail provide seals for acoustic and heat retention purposes when the door is closed; in the event of fire, they also provide protection against the immediate passage of smoke and fire from one room to another.

The efficiency of the seal produced can be enhanced by use of a variety of sealing mechanisms, for example flexible strips secured within discrete channels of the respective doorposts and head rail of the door frame or formed in the side edges of the door itself.

The efficiency of the seal achieved is to a significant extent determined by the surface areas of the adjoining side edges of the door, the doorposts and the head rail; more particularly, the gap between the adjoining surfaces and the width of these surfaces. Another object of this invention is to provide a door and an assembly of a door and door frame in which the opportunity for enhanced sealing exists.

According to the present invention in one aspect, there is provided a door having front and rear facings secured to and spaced apart by a core having upstanding side, top and bottom edges, wherein the angle subtended between at least one of the upstanding side edges of the door and an adjoining door leaf is greater than 90 .

In the preferred embodiment, the angle subtended between each upstanding side edge of the core and the respective adjoining facing is greater than 90 .

Alternatively, the angle subtended between the one upstanding side edge of the core and the adjoining facing is greater than 90 , and that subtended between the upstanding side edge of the core on the other side of the door and the adjoining facing is less than 90 .

In another aspect, there is provided a door having front and rear facings secured to and spaced apart by a core having upstanding side, top and bottom edges, wherein the angle subtended between each upstanding side edge of the core and the respective adjoining door facing is greater than 90 .

The angle subtended between the upper core edge and an adjoining facing may also be greater than 90 .

The angle subtended between one or each door edge and the adjoining facing or facings is preferably between 110 and 160 . Typically these angles approximate to 1350.

The door may be a conventional wood or plastics faced door for domestic and light commercial use; alternatively it may be reinforced for security purposes or be employed in a clean room environment where sealing against contamination is essential.

In a further aspect the invention provides an assembly of a doorframe including upstanding doorposts and a hand rail and a door including front and rear facings secured to and spaced apart by a core having upstanding side, top and bottom edges in which, in the closed position of the assembly, the edge surfaces of the doorposts and the adjoining upstanding side edges of the core lie adjacent and generally parallel one to the other, and wherein the edge surface of at least one doorpost is inclined at an angle of less than 90 with respect to a side surface of that doorpost, and the respective adjoining side edge of the core is inclined at an

angle greater than 90 with respect to an adjoining door facing.

The angle subtended between the end and side faces of the doorpost may be between 20 and 70 ; typically this angle is 45 .

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which :- Figures 1 and 2 are sections taken through an assembly in accordance with the invention; Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken through an alternative assembly in accordance with the invention; Figures 3 and 4 is are respectively horizontal sections taken through a further assembly in accordance with the invention; and Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken through another assembly in accordance with the invention.

In each Figure, the same reference numerals are used for the same or similar components.

The assembly illustrated in Figure 1 comprises a door 1 including front and rear facings 2 secured to and spaced apart by a core 3 which defines the side, upper and lower edges of the door. The door side edges are referenced 4. It will be appreciated that the illustrated door also includes upper and lower edges which serve to space the facings one from the other. Also shown in Figure 1 is a doorpost 5 which has front and rear faces 6 and an edge face 7 which in the closed position of the door lies generally parallel and in close proximity to the side edge 4 of the door. The edge face 7 defines a stop or rebate for the door when closed. One door edge 4 is secured to the adjoining edge face of the doorpost by hinges 8 (only one of which is shown) 4 to facilitate opening and closing of the door. A flexible seal 9 is secured to one of the adjoining edges 4 and 7.

Conventionally, the upstanding side edge of a door lies generally normal to the door facings. Also, in a conventional assembly the edge face of a doorpost lies generally normal to the front and rear face of the post. As will be seen from Figure 1, in accordance with this invention the adjoining side edges of the door 1 and the doorpost 5 are inclined at an angle to the normal. It will be seen that each door post has two angled edge faces, the two faces meeting at a point generally midway along the width of the post. The point may be curvilinear as shown as may be edges between the post end faces and the post side faces.

As illustrated, one door facing subtends an angle of 450 to the adjoining edge and the other door facing subtends an angle of 135 to that edge. Similarly, the side face of the doorpost subtends angles of 1350 and 450 to the front and rear faces of the post.

As will be seen from Figure 2, the door 1 can be hinged to either inclined side edge of one of the two posts 5 and at either comer of each post.

One important advantage of this arrangement is that if fingers do become trapped between the co-operating surfaces of the door and doorpost edges, any injury will be minimal and certainly less than that which would arise with conventional door/doorpost arrangements.

Another important advantage is that the sealing effect produced, and the ability for enhanced sealing, is far greater than that for conventional door/doorpost assemblies because of the increased surface areas of the adjoining side edges. A conventional assembly typically provides a sealing surface of around 20mm. With assemblies in accordance with the present invention, the sealing surface of a standard door of 44mm thickness can readily be increased to 60mm and more.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 3, the side face 7 of each doorpost 5 is again formed with two inclined surfaces each of which subtends an angle approximating to 135 to the adjoining front or rear face of the doorpost. Two doors 9,10 are illustrated, the side edge 4 of each door being inclined so that when the or each door is closed its side edge lies adjacent and generally parallel to the co-operating side face of the door post. The use of two doors as illustrated can significantly enhance acoustic and heat retention characteristics.

As will be seen from Figure 4, the head rail of the door frame is shaped in the same

way as the edge frames of the post. For ease of manufacture, the head rails may be of identical section. They may comprise extruded plastics or plastic-coated metal, e. g. aluminium.

In the arrangement illustrated in Figure 5, the end 12 of the illustrated doorpost 14 is detachably connected to an internal post 15, by means of connecting plates 16 which cooperated with lugs 17 of the post 15. A seal 8 is provided between the adjoining side edges of the door 3 and the post.

It will be appreciated that the foregoing is merely exemplary of doors and door assemblies in accordance with the invention and that modifications can readily be made thereto without departing from the true scope of the invention. Thus, the upstanding side edges of the door may be curvilinear in cross-section with the adjoining upstanding side surfaces of the door posts being curvilinear in a complementary sense.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A door having front and rear facings secured to and spaced apart by a core having upstanding side, top and bottom edges, wherein the angle subtended between at least one of the upstanding side edges of the door and an adjoining door leaf is greater than 90 .
2. A door as claimed in claim 1 the angle subtended between each upstanding side edge of the core and the respective adjoining facing is greater than 90 .
3. A door as claimed in claim 1 wherein the angle subtended between the one upstanding side edge of the core and the adjoining facing is greater than 90 , and that subtended between the upstanding side edge of the core on the other side of the door and the adjoining facing is less than 90 .
4. A door having front and rear facings secured to and spaced apart by a core having upstanding side, top and bottom edges, wherein the angle subtended between each upstanding side edge of the core and the respective adjoining door facing is greater than 900.
5. A door as claimed in claim 4 wherein the angle subtended between the upper core edge and an adjoining facing is greater than 90 .
6. A door as claimed in claim 5 wherein the angle subtended between one or each door edge and the adjoining facing or facings is between about 110 and about 160 .
7. A door as claimed in claim 6 wherein the angle subtended between one or each door edge and the adjoining facing or facings is about 1350.
8. A door as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the door is faced by a wood or plastics material.
9. A door as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7 wherein the door is reinforced to provide improved security.

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10. A door as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising a seal around its periphery.
11. An assembly of a doorframe including upstanding doorposts and a hand rail and a door including front and rear facings secured to and spaced apart by a core having upstanding side, top and bottom edges in which, in the closed position of the assembly, the edge surfaces of the doorposts and the adjoining upstanding side edges of the core lie adjacent and generally parallel one to the other, and wherein the edge surface of at least one doorpost is inclined at an angle of less than 90 with respect to a side surface of that doorpost, and the respective adjoining side edge of the core is inclined at an angle greater than 90 with respect to an adjoining door facing.
12. An assembly as claimed in claim 11 wherein the angle subtended between the end and

side faces of the doorpost is between about 20 and about 70
13. An assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein the angle is about 45 .
14. A door substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying figures.
15. An assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying figures.