GB2620580A

GB2620580A - Frame

Info

Publication number: GB2620580A
Application number: GB2210176.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mallinson Tristan
Original assignee: Ricky Evershed; Simon Peter Evershed
Current assignee: Ricky Evershed; Simon Peter Evershed
Priority date: 2022-07-11
Filing date: 2022-07-11
Publication date: 2024-01-17
Also published as: GB202210176D0

Abstract

A steel frame for use with a door comprising a header portion 110 and first and second post portions 121, 122 connected by the header portion, and a pattern of apertures 130 located on at least one of the post portions and the header portion. Preferably the frame comprises openings 150 for fitting hinges, locks fixings or door holders, and the frame is substantially entirely of steel. The pattern of apertures may be continuous and comprise four rows of apertures spaced alternately. The frame may comprise insulation, preferably a stone wool insulation. Further disclosed is a doorset comprising the frame and a door leaf.

Description

I Frame

Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates generally to frames used with doors and particularly to steel frames used with doors.

Background

Doors and doorsets can be made from many different materials such as steel, aluminium, timber and composites. Steel doors and doorsets are used in many commercial and industrial applications and in some domestic situations. There are industry standards and regulations covering aspects of doors such as size, strength, fire resistance and thermal transmittance. The lower the thermal transmittance of a doorset, the less heat is transferred from one side of the door to the other. The lower the thermal transmittance of a doorset, the better the thermal insulation properties of the doorset. Whilst there are many ways of achieving acceptable industry standard thermal transmittance in aluminium, timber and composite doorsets, it is very difficult to meet thermal transmittance regulations for standard steel doorsets with existing methods.

Doorsets and doors conduct heat through their folded metal profile design. It is challenging to reduce the thermal transmittance of steel doors and doorsets. Existing designs to reduce the thermal transmittance can include resin composite thermal breaks with aluminium frames. However, the existing solutions are challenging to apply to steel frames.

Door strength and rigidity are important properties of doorsets. Some known methods of reducing the thermal transmittance of steel frames such as using a mineral wool core and excluding steel strengthening lead to a loss in strength and rigidity.

As such, there is a need for steel doors and doorsets with reduced thermal transmittance while maintaining the strength and rigidity.

Objects and aspects of the present invention seek to alleviate at least these problems with the prior art.

Summary

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a steel frame for use with a door; the frame comprising: a header portion, a first post portion and a second post portion, wherein the first and second post portions are connected by the header portion and the frame is configured to fit a door leaf; and a pattern of apertures is located on at least one of the header portion, the first post portion, and the second post portion.

In this way, the frame is a non-continuous steel door frame and therefore significantly reduces the heat transfer from one side of the door to the other. The heat transfer is restricted between the apertures and across the whole surface area of the frame. Reducing the thermal transmittance improves the insulating properties of the doorset. Improving the thermal insulation properties of the doorset reduces the amount of energy required to heat or cool the environment on one side of the door. The frame may be used with external doors in order to reduce the heat transfer between an inside and an outside environment. The frame may also be used with internal doors. For example the frame may be used to reduce the heat transfer between a heated area such as an office and a non-heated area. In another example, the frame may be used to reduce the heat transfer between a chilled area such as a refrigerated storage area and a non-chilled area.

In some embodiments, the frame consists substantially entirely of steel. In this way, the present invention can be manufactured simply and at a low cost as extra materials are not required.

In some embodiments, the frame comprises separable portions that can be connected. In this way, the frame can be transported in parts and assembled on-site which is particularly advantageous for large frames, which can be challenging to transport in one piece.

In some embodiments, the separable portions are configured to be connected using bolted corners. In this way, the separable portions can be assembled simply and securely on-site.

In some embodiments, the pattern of apertures are located on each of the header portion, the first post portion and the second post portion. In this way, the thermal transmittance is reduced for each portion of the frame.

In some embodiments, the pattern of apertures is continuous. In this way, the thermal transfer is reduced across the frame.

In some embodiments, the frame comprises openings configured to fit at least one of fixing, hinges, locks and door holders. In this way, the frame can be used with a door leaf with fixing, hinges, locks and/or door holders.

In some embodiments, the frame comprises steel with a thickness of at least 2 mm. In this way, the strength of the frame is significantly increased compared to frames that use 1.5 mm steel. The combination of the pattern of apertures and the thicker 2 mm steel reduces the thermal transmittance and maintains the overall strength and rigidity of the frame. In alternative embodiments, the frame comprises steel with a thickness of 1.5 mm.

In some embodiments, the pattern of apertures comprises four rows of apertures spaced alternately. In this way, the heat transfer is restricted between the rows of apertures.

In some embodiments, the depth of the frame is at least 110 mm. In this way, the frame can be used with door leaves with a thickness of 60 mm. In alternative embodiments, the depth of the frame is less than 110 mm.

In some embodiments, the frame comprises insulation. In this way, the thermal transmittance of the frame is further reduced.

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a doorset comprising a frame of any of the preceding claims, and a door leaf. In this way, the doorset has reduced thermal transmittance and improved insulation properties.

In some embodiments, the door leaf has a thickness of at least 60 mm. In this way, the thermal transmittance of the doorset is further reduced. The increased thickness from the usual 45 mm leaf to 60 mm reduces the thermal transmittance as well as increasing the strength of the door leaf. In alternative embodiments, the door leaf has a thickness of less than 60 mm.

In some embodiments, the frame is designed to incorporate openings for fixings, hinges, locks, door closers, all accurately positioned by specially adapted 3D computer aided design software.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The disclosure will be further described with reference to examples depicted in the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 depicts a frame of the first aspect of the present invention; Figure 2 depicts a view of the post portion of the frame of Figure 1; Figure 3 depicts a detailed view of the frame corner as circled in Figure 1; Figure 4 depicts a view of a part of the post portion of the frame of Figure 1; Figure 5 depicts a view of the frame of Figure 1 with insulation as seen from above; and Figure 6 depicts a view of a doorset of the second aspect of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following description presents particular examples and, together with the drawings, serves to explain principles of the disclosure. However, the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited to the precise details of the examples, since variations will be apparent to a skilled person and are deemed to be covered by the description. Terms for components used herein should be given a broad interpretation that also encompasses equivalent functions and features. In some cases, alternative terms for structural features may be provided but such terms are not intended to be exhaustive.

Descriptive terms should also be given the broadest possible interpretation; e.g. the term "comprising" as used in this specification means "consisting at least in part of' such that interpreting each statement in this specification that includes the term "comprising", features other than that or those prefaced by the term may also be present. Related terms such as "comprise" and "comprises" are to be interpreted in the same manner.

The description herein refers to examples with particular combinations of features, however, it is envisaged that further combinations and cross-combinations of compatible features between embodiments will be possible. Indeed, isolated features may function independently as an invention from other features and not necessarily require implementation as a complete combination.

With reference to Figures 1 to 4, there is illustrated a frame 100 for use with doors. The frame 100 comprises a header portion 110, a first post portion 121 and a second post portion 122. Each of the header and post portions comprise a pattern of apertures 130. The frame 100 has a width of 1190 mm, a height of 2090 mm and a depth of 110 mm.

The apertures 130 are arranged in four columns, alternately spaced. The apertures 130 are stadium shaped with a length of 25 mm, a width of 5 mm and ends with a 2.5 mm radius. The columns of apertures 130 are spaced 5 mm apart from one edge to another with centres spaced by 10 mm. The apertures 130 are spaced 40 mm apart within each column. Each row of apertures 130 is spaced 5 mm apart. The first post portion 121 and second post portion 122 comprise openings 150 to accommodate fixings, hinges, locks, door closers.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the header portion 110 and the post portions 121, 122, comprise an L-shaped hollow.

With reference to Figure 5, there is illustrated a frame 100 containing insulation 140. The insulation 140 is contained within the hollow of the frame 100 to further reduce the thermal transmittance of the frame. The insulation 140 comprises stone wool insulation, for example ROCKWOOLO insulation. Figure 5 shows a view of the frame from above with the apertures 130 visible on the first post portion 121 and the second post portion 122. The header portion 110 also comprises apertures 130 which are not shown. The apertures 130 of the header portion are located on the surface in contact with the door leaf and are not shown in Figure 5 as they are covered by the insulation 140.

With reference to Figure 6, there is illustrated a doorset 200 comprising a frame 100 and a door leaf 210. The door leaf 210 has a thickness of 60 mm.

Thermal transmittance simulations were carried out on doorsets in accordance with Standard BS EN ISO 10077-1:2017. The thermal transmittance is as expressed as a U-value in units W/(m2.K). The thermal transmittance of examples of the present invention and comparative examples was calculated. The reference surface temperature conditions for the simulation was 20°C internal and 0°C external. Comparative examples with standard steel frames and with steel frames with a thermal break of polyamide 25% glass fibre were used. Examples with a perforated frame in accordance with the present invention were used. The results are set out in Table 1.

Table 1

Doorset U-value W/(m 2.K) Open-out 45 mm Standard steel door with standard frame 2.0 Open-out 60 mm Standard steel door with perforated frame 1.5 Open-out 60 mm Standard steel door with thermally broken frame 1.5 Open-in 45 mm Standard steel door with standard frame 1.9 Open-in 60 mm Standard steel door with perforated frame 1.5 Open-in 60 mm Standard steel door with thermally broken frame 1.5 The measurements refer to the thickness of the door leaf, for example, "Open-out 45 mm Standard steel door with standard frame" refers to a doorset with a 45 mm thick door leaf which opens outwards from a standard frame.

U-values of 1.6 W/(m2.K) and below are desirable as building regulations require doors on external envelopes of certain structures to achieve a U-value of 1.6W/m2.K.

The doorsets of the present invention show improved thermal transmittance compared to doorsets with standard frames for both open-in and open-out doors. The doorsets of the present invention achieved U values in accordance with the building regulations. The frame of the present invention achieved equivalent thermal transmittance to frames with thermal breaks. Frames with thermal breaks are expensive and require specialist manufacture.

The invention is not limited to the specific examples or structures illustrated; a greater number of components than are illustrated in the Figures could be used, for example. There could be an alternative of frame portions, there could be an alternate configuration of apertures, there could be additional opening configured to allow for other door fixings or accessories. The apertures may be different shapes or sizes.

Claims

Claims 1. A steel frame for use with a door; the frame comprising: a header portion, a first post portion and a second post portion, wherein the first and second post portions are connected by the header portion and the frame is configured to fit a door leaf; and a pattern of apertures is located on at least one of the header portion, the first post portion, and the second post portion.
2. The frame of claim 1, wherein the frame consists substantially entirely of steel.
3. The frame of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the frame comprises separable portions that can be connected.
4. The frame of claim 3, wherein the separable portions are configured to be connected using bolted corners.
5. The frame of any preceding claim, wherein the pattern of apertures are located on each of the header portion and the first and second post portions.
6. The frame of any preceding claim, wherein the pattern of apertures is continuous.
7. The frame of any of the preceding claims, wherein the frame comprises openings configured to fit at least one of fixing, hinges, locks and door holders.
8. The frame of any of the preceding claims, wherein the frame comprises steel with a thickness at least 2 mm.
9. The frame of any of the preceding claims, wherein the pattern of apertures comprises four rows of apertures spaced alternately.
10. The frame of any of the preceding claims, wherein the depth of the frame is at least 110 mm.B
11. The frame of any of the preceding claims, wherein the frame comprises insulation.
12. A doorset comprising a frame of any of the preceding claims, and a door leaf.
13. The doorset of claim 12, wherein the door leaf has a thickness of at least 60 mm.