GB2456546A

GB2456546A - Fitting tool for door closer

Info

Publication number: GB2456546A
Application number: GB0800867A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alister Peter Reid
Original assignee: Astra Door Controls Ltd
Current assignee: Astra Door Controls Ltd
Priority date: 2008-01-17
Filing date: 2008-01-17
Publication date: 2009-07-22
Anticipated expiration: 2028-01-17
Also published as: GB2456546B; GB0800867D0

Abstract

The fitting tool 2, in the form of a template, is for fitting a concealed door closer to an edge 6 of a door leaf 8. The template includes a rigid plate 10 having an annular elongate drill guide 12. The drill guide defines a cylindrical orifice 14 extending from a top surface 16 of the plate. The orifice extends through the plate. A longitudinally oriented abutment 20 extends from an opposite bottom surface 18 of the plate. The abutment is laterally spaced from the orifice 14. A plurality of fixing holes 24 may extend through the plate on opposite sides of the drill guide 12. The fitting tool is used in a method of drilling a hole in an edge of a door leaf to receive an elongate housing of a concealed door closer.

Description

2456546

FITTING TOOL FOR DOOR CLOSER AND METHOD OF USE

The present invention relates to a fitting tool for a door closer, and a method of use thereof, and in particular for a door closer known in the art as a concealed door closer which is mortised into the door leaf or its frame.

Concealed door closers are known which are adapted to be inserted into the hanging edge of the door leaf and are anchored to the frame edge by means of a tension linkage, for example a chain or a rigid arm. Such door closers incorporate a spring to provide a closing force for closing the door and a hydraulic damping arrangement which serves to regulate the rate of movement of the door in the direction of closure without restricting significantly the rate of movement in the direction of opening. Accordingly, the damping arrangement provides a steady controlled closing force for smooth closing of the door under the action of the spring, yet does not inhibit (or only minimally inhibits) opening of the door so that the opening moment required to be manually applied is low.

The spring and the damping arrangement are accommodated within an elongate housing, which is usually cylindrical. An elongate hole must be provided in the hanging edge of the door leaf for receiving the housing. The housing has a mounting plate which is fixed, for example by screws, to the face of the hanging edge, and flush thereto within a rebate, to secure the housing in position. The concealed construction of known concealed door closer, where the housing containing the spring and damper arrangement is recessed and hidden within the door leaf, and only a mounting plate is exposed, inherently restricts both the versatility of the construction and the facility easily to install the concealed door closer, in particular by a person other than a trained installer or engineer.

It is important that the housing is accurately located in the correct position in the hanging edge of the door leaf, otherwise the door closer may not function, either at all or properly and reliably. The housing must also accurately extend in an orthogonal direction to the hanging edge, and so parallel to the faces of the door leaf.

1

When a person fitting the door closer, who may be a skilled workman or a householder, is drilling the elongate hole in the hanging edge of the door leaf for receiving the housing, the hole must accordingly be in the correct position relative to the thickness and height directions of the door leaf, and also orthogonal to the hanging edge. Otherwise, the door closer may malfunction and there is a danger that the drilled hole can inadvertently puncture through the door face, which would require replacement of the door leaf. The person therefore has to measure the correct position on the hanging edge and carefully use the drill to ensure that the drilled hole is parallel with the door face. This can be difficult to achieve quickly and reliably.

Consequently the known fitting method for a concealed door closer is inconvenient.

There is a need to provide a means for fitting a concealed door closer which reliably ensures that the elongate hole, and consequently the housing when fitted, is in the correct location without relying on any particular skill of the person fitting the door closer.

There is a need to provide a means for fitting a concealed door closer which also can permit a quicker fitting operation.

There is also a need to provide a concealed door closer system which readily permits easy installation.

The present invention aims to meet these needs concerning known concealed door closers.

The present invention accordingly provides a fitting tool, in the form of a template, for fitting a concealed door closer to an edge of a door leaf, the template comprising a rigid plate having an annular elongate drill guide, defining a cylindrical orifice, extending from a top surface of the plate, the orifice extending through the plate, and a longitudinally oriented abutment extending from an opposite bottom surface of the plate, the abutment being laterally spaced from the orifice.

2

Preferably, the annular elongate drill guide is substantially centrally located in the plate.

Preferably, the longitudinally oriented abutment extends along a side edge of the plate.

Preferably, the plate is substantially rectangular, and the longitudinally oriented abutment extends in a direction parallel to the major length of the rectangular plate.

Preferably, the annular elongate drill guide has a length of at least 50mm.

Preferably, the axis of the cylindrical orifice is spaced from an inward surface of the abutment by a distance of from 15 to 25 mm.

The fitting tool may further comprise a plurality of fixing holes extending through the plate, the fixing holes being on opposite sides of the annular elongate drill guide.

Preferably, the fixing holes are countersunk in the top surface of the fixing plate.

The present invention also provides a method of drilling a hole in an edge of a door leaf, the method comprising:

(a) providing a fitting tool according to the present invention;

(b) disposing the bottom surface against the edge of a door leaf so that an inward surface of the longitudinally oriented abutment abuts against a face of the door leaf; and

(c) drilling a hole into the edge of a door leaf by passing a drill bit through the cylindrical orifice, the outer diameter of the drill bit being substantially the same as the diameter of the cylindrical orifice.

The method may further comprise the step, between steps (b) and (c) of fitting the fitting tool to the edge of the door leaf in a fixed position by passing fixings into the door leaf through the fixing holes.

3

Preferably, the fixings form pilot holes in the door leaf for fixings for fitting a concealed door closer subsequently fitted to the door leaf, the door closer including a cylindrical elongate housing for fitting into the hole, wherein the elongate housing has an outer diameter that is substantially the same as the diameter of the hole, and the housing has a mounting plate which has a plurality of mounting holes extending through the mounting plate, the mounting holes being spaced relative to the elongate housing in the same orientation as the fixing holes relative to the cylindrical orifice.

The present invention yet further provides a fitting tool according to the present invention in combination with a concealed door closer including an elongate housing for fitting into a door leaf, the housing having a mounting plate with an opening adjacent to a central bore of the housing.

Preferably, the elongate housing is cylindrical and has an outer diameter that is substantially the same as the diameter of the cylindrical orifice.

Preferably, the mounting plate has a plurality of mounting holes extending through the mounting plate, the mounting holes being spaced relative to the elongate housing in the same orientation as the fixing holes relative to the cylindrical orifice.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention can provide the technical advantage that the abutment, which during a drilling operation to form a hole in the door leaf to receive a door closer typically forms a vertically oriented lip on the edge of the fitting tool that abuts the face of the door leaf, also referred to as a fitting jig, allows a fitter to accurately drill the hole at the correct distance from the edge of the door. This technical advantage of the present invention, namely positioning of the drill hole correctly, is independent of specific door thickness. For example, the same fitting tool or jig can be used correctly to fit a commonly constructed and dimensioned door closer selectively to either a 44mm half hour fire door (e.g. to provide a centrally positioned hole) or to a 54mm one hour fire door (e.g. to provide an offset hole with respect to the geometric centre of the door leaf).

4

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view, partly in phantom, of a fitting tool for a door closer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention and when disposed on the hanging edge of a door leaf;

FIG. 2 shows a side view, partly in phantom, of the fitting tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows an end view, partly in phantom, of the fitting tool of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a top plan view, partly in phantom, of the fitting tool of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 shows a side view of a concealed door closer to be fitted by use of the fitting tool of FIG. 1

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment of fitting tool 2 in accordance with the invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. The fitting tool 2 is in the form of a template for fitting a concealed door closer 4, shown in FIG. 5, to an edge 6 of a door leaf 8. The template 2 comprises a rigid plate 10 which is substantially rectangular. An annular elongate drill guide 12, defining a cylindrical orifice 14, extends upwardly from a top surface 16 of the plate 10. The drill guide 12 is substantially centrally located in the plate 10. The orifice 14 extends through the plate 12 as far as the opposite bottom surface 18 of the plate 10. 5. The drill guide typically has a length of at least 50mm, for example up to 75mm. A particularly preferred length is 60mm.

A longitudinally oriented abutment 20 extends downwardly from the bottom surface 18 of the plate 10. The abutment 20 is laterally spaced from the orifice 14 by a predetermined distance. Typically, the axis 13 of the cylindrical orifice 14 is spaced from an inward surface 15 of the abutment 20 by a distance of from 15 to 25 mm. The longitudinally oriented abutment 20 extends along a side edge 22 of the plate 10, and in the embodiment extends in a direction parallel to the major length of the rectangular plate 10, and along the entire length of the side edge 22.

5

A plurality of fixing holes 24 extends through the plate 10. The fixing holes 24 are on opposite sides of the annular elongate drill guide 12. In the illustrated embodiment there are four fixing holes 24, two on one side, and two on the other side, of the annular elongate drill guide 12. The fixing holes 24 are countersunk in the top surface 16 of the fixing plate 10.

The template 2 is typically formed of an injection moulded plastics material, such as nylon.

As shown in Figure 1, when used for drilling-a hole in an edge 6 of a door leaf 8, the bottom surface 18 is disposed against the edge 6 so that the inward surface 15 of the abutment 20 abuts against a face 30 of the door leaf 8. In this way the cylindrical orifice 14, and more particularly the axis 13 thereof, is spaced the desired distance from the face 30. The template 2 may be fitted to the edge 6 of the door leaf 8 in a fixed desired position by passing fixings 34, such as screws, into the door leaf 8 through the fixing holes 24.

Then a hole is drilled into the edge 6 of the door leaf 8 by passing a drill bit, typically an auger bit, through the cylindrical orifice 14. The outer diameter of the drill bit is substantially the same as the diameter of the cylindrical orifice 14. This ensures accurate centering of the drill bit within the orifice 14 at the desired position, and ensures that the drill bit remains orthogonal to the edge 6, and so parallel to the face 30, throughout the drilling operation.

The provision of the abutment 20 in combination with the cylindrical orifice 14 ensures that the position of the hole that is drilled into the door leaf 8 is always at the correct position, and parallel to the faces of the door leaf 8. This is achieved irrespective of the thickness of the door, because the abutment 20 is only on one side of the template 2, and so consistently accurately locates the drilled hole relative to a selected face 30 of the door leaf 8.

6

The template may be provided in combination with a concealed door closer as shown in FIG. 5, which includes an elongate housing 40 for fitting into a door leaf, the housing 40 having a mounting plate 42 with an opening 44 through which opening 44 extends a tension member 46, for example an arm, having a fitting 48 at a free end 50 thereof. The elongate housing 40 is cylindrical and has an outer diameter dl that is substantially the same as the diameter d2 of the cylindrical orifice 14. The two diameters may have any necessary small amount of play, as would be immediately apparent to a skilled person, to permit the housing 40 readily to be inserted into a hole drilled by a drill bit passing through the orifice 14.

The mounting plate 40 has a plurality of mounting holes 52 extending through the mounting plate 40. The mounting holes 52 are spaced relative to the elongate housing 40 in the same orientation as the fixing holes 24 relative to the cylindrical orifice 14. Accordingly, when the fixings 34 are removed, they leave pilot holes in the door leaf for the mounting screws for the mounting plate 40.

The template 2 may be provided in different sizes corresponding to different sizes of concealed door closer. For example, a first size template has a 30mm cylindrical orifice and a second size template has a 26mm cylindrical orifice. Either template may be used accurately to fit a concealed door closer to, selectively, a 44mm thick half hour fire door or a 54mm thick one hour fire door. The abutment always positions the drill hole at the correct distance from the face of the door. In practice, the 44mm thick half hour fire door has a centrally located drill hole with respect to the opposite faces of the door, whereas the 54mm thick one hour fire door is offset towards one face, but this is immaterial because the drill hole is still accurately positioned and parallel to the faces and spaced a sufficient distance from both faces to enable the door closer to function properly and be securely fitted to the door leaf.

The fitting tool of the invention greatly eases the installation of the concealed door closer, to enable accurate and reliable installation a speedy and efficient manner. If desired, the door closer may be fitted to the door frame rather than to the door leaf using the fitting tool.

7

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed herein.

8

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A fitting tool, in the form of a template, for fitting a concealed door closer to an edge of a door leaf, the template comprising a rigid plate having an annular elongate drill guide, defining a cylindrical orifice, extending from a top surface of the plate, the orifice extending through the plate, and a longitudinally oriented abutment extending from an opposite bottom surface of the plate, the abutment being laterally spaced from the orifice.

2. A fitting tool according to claim 1 wherein the annular elongate drill guide is substantially centrally located in the plate.

3. A fitting tool according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the longitudinally oriented abutment extends along a side edge of the plate.

4. A fitting tool according to any foregoing claim wherein the plate is substantially rectangular, and the longitudinally oriented abutment extends in a direction parallel to the major length of the rectangular plate.

5. A fitting tool according to any foregoing claim wherein the annular elongate drill guide has a length of at least 50mm.

6. A fitting tool according to any foregoing claim wherein the axis of the cylindrical orifice is spaced from an inward surface of the abutment by a distance of from 15 to 25 mm.

7. A fitting tool according to any foregoing claim further comprising a plurality of fixing holes extending through the plate, the fixing holes being on opposite sides of the annular elongate drill guide.

8. A fitting tool according to claim 7 wherein the fixing holes are countersunk in the top surface of the fixing plate.

9

9. A method of drilling a hole in an edge of a door leaf, the method comprising:

(a) providing a fitting tool according to any foregoing claim;

10. A method according to claim 9, when appendant on claim 7 or claim 8, further comprising the step, between steps (b) and (c) of fitting the fitting tool to the edge of the door leaf in a fixed position by passing fixings into the door leaf through the fixing holes.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein the fixings form pilot holes in the door leaf for fixings for fitting a concealed door closer subsequently fitted to the door leaf, the door closer including a cylindrical elongate housing for fitting into the hole, wherein the elongate housing has an outer diameter that is substantially the same as the diameter of the hole, and the housing has a mounting plate which has a plurality of mounting holes extending through the mounting plate, the mounting holes being spaced relative to the elongate housing in the same orientation as the fixing holes relative to the cylindrical orifice.

12. A fitting tool according to any one of claims 1 to 8 in combination with a concealed door closer including an elongate housing for fitting into a door leaf, the housing having a mounting plate with an opening adjacent to a central bore of the housing.

13. A combination according to claim 12 wherein the elongate housing is cylindrical and has an outer diameter that is substantially the same as the diameter of the cylindrical orifice.

10

14. A combination according to claim 13, when appendant on claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the mounting plate has a plurality of mounting holes extending through the mounting plate, the mounting holes being spaced relative to the elongate housing in the same orientation as the fixing holes relative to the cylindrical orifice.

11