US3298510A - Pre-hung door mounting means - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 17, 1967 I E. BRAND PRE-HUNG DOOR MOUNTING MEANS Filed Feb, 5, 1965 INVENTOR. F 'g 4 EUGENE L. BRAND Fig. 5

MEN/2M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,298,510 PRE-HUNG DOOR MOUNTING MEANS Eugene L. Brand, Clinton, Ohio, assignor to Alsco, Inc., Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 5, 19.65, Ser. No. 430,654 2 Claims. (Cl. 206-60) This invention relates to pre-hung doors and, more particularly, to means for mounting a door within a door jamb frame so that the door frame is spaced a predetermined distance from the door jamb members and so that the door frame and door jamb members may be easily installed as a unit.

According to conventional manufacturing and installation techniques, aluminum storm doors are assembled within and hinged to their door jambs or Z-bars by the manufacturer so that the entire unit may be easily installed on the door jambs and lintel of a building structure. The door frame is fastened to its Z-bar or door jamb and suitable spacers or shims are inserted between the Z-bars and door frame to insure the proper clearance between these members when they are installed.

According to some of these prior art practices, screws or rivets are provided to join the Z-bar to the door frame in such a way that the screw or rivet may be severed after the Z-bar is installed on the wood door frame. A spacer is employed which is notched to surround the screw or rivet and which is adapted to sever the screw or rivet when tapped with a hammer. This arrangement is unsatisfactory for at least four reasons. Firstly, the spacer must project from the frame, and this presents problems in stacking and shipping the product, because the projections can snag on and mar other door frames. Secondly, in order to give proper spacing support, the spacer must extend across the thickness of the door frame, and therefore almost to the stop flange of the Z-bar. Its cutting stroke (which is the remaining distance to the stop flange) is therefore extremely short. This short stroke can make it diflicult to sever the rivet or screw without damaging the stop flange. Thirdly, since the spacer must shear the screw or rivet, hardened steel or other relatively costly material must be employed for each spacer element. Fourthly, the spacer cannot be simply locked against sliding movement across the door edges, since it must be able to so move in order to sever the rivet or screw.

It is an object of this invention to provide inexpensive spacer elements (e.g., extruded plastic or aluminum shapes cut to short lengths) that extend across the entire width of the door frame to separate the door frame from its Z-bar and to provide such spacer elements in combination with attaching means between the door frame and the Z-bar in .such a way that the attaching means may be released by a long-stroking severing tool.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a spacer between a door frame and its Z-bar that will not slide out of its space before the attaching means is severed.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more fully understood from the following detailed description of the invention and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a pre-hung door and its Z-bars.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross sectional view of a portion of the Z-bar and door frame illustrated in FIG. 1, the plane of the section being indicated by the line 22 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, perspective, exploded view of a portion of a door frame and its Z-bar, showing a 3,298,510 Patented Jan. 17, 1967 lCC spacer element and fastening means according to this invention.

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of a suitable severing means.

FIG. 5 is an ele-vational view of the spacer means according to this invention.

Referring now to the drawings, a pre-hung door 10 is illustrated. The pre-hung door 10 includes side frame members 11 and 12 and a top frame member 13. The frame members 11-13 may be aluminum extrusions and may have identical cross sections.

A Z-bar unit comprising side Z- bars 14 and 15 and a head Z-bar 16. are respectively associated with frame members 11-13. The frame member 11 is hinged to the side Z-bar 14. The Z-bars 14-16 are fixed to the frame members 11-13 by rivets 17. Spacer members 18 are provided between the door frame members 11-13 and the Z -bars 14-16. As is indicated in FIG. 1, it is desirable to provide a spacer member 18 in closely spaced adjacency to each rivet 17 so that the spacer element 18 is laterally offset from the axis of its adjacent rivet 17. It is desirable to place the spacer members 18 above each rivet 17 between the side frame members 11 and 12 and their Z- bars 14 and 15 so that the spacer members 18 cannot drop away from their associated rivets prior to or during installation of the door 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the frame member 12 comprises faces 19 and 20 and a connecting web 21. The faces 19 and 20 extend outwardly beyond the connecting web 21 to flanges 22 and 23. It should be appreciated that each door frame member 11-13 may be similarly constructed.

The Z-bar 15 comprises a first face flange or leg 24 which is screwed to the outer face of a wood door frame (not shown) by a screw 25. The Z-bar 15 also includes a second leg 26 which extends substantially perpendicular to the leg 24 and lies against an inside surface of the door jamb or lintel. A stop flange 27 is provided at one end of the leg 26 and the stop flange 27 retains a weather seal strip 28. Each Z-bar 14-16 may be similarly constructed.

Before the door frame member 12 is riveted to the Z-bar 15, a spacer member 18 is inserted between these members. The spacer member 18 comprises a plate having a width about equal to the distance between the faces 19 and 20 so that the plate does not project beyond these faces to any significant extent. The spacer member 18 includes recessed edge portions 29 and 30 which cooperate with the flanges 22 and 23 to insure that the spacer member 18 will not be moved from the position illustrated in FIG. 2.

To prevent them from sliding along the surfaces 22 and 23, some or all of the several members 18 may be taped to the door frame 12, although this is not necessary where the spacer members are sufliciently tightly clam ed by their associated rivets.

After the door frame member 11 has been hinged to the Z-bar 14 and the spacer members 18 have been applied while they are permanently or temporarily held in position by any suitable arrangement, the rivets 17 are applied. The resulting pre-hung door assembly may be easily shipped and installed with the proper spacing between the door frame and the Z-bars.

After the pre-hung door assembly has been installed on the wood door frame opening, the fasteners are released. For this purpose, a severing tool, such as tool 31 illustrated in FIG. 4, is provided. It may have a sharpedged V-notch 32 at its working end, or the V- notch may be eliminated and the working endof the tool 31 may be simply sharpened. In use, the tool is inserted in the space between the Z-bar and the door frame so that a rivet 17 is engaged by the notch 32 or by the sharpened working end of the tool. The other end of the tool is then struck with a hammer to shear the rivet 17. After all of the rivets 17 have been sheared, the door may be opened and the spacers 18 may be removed.

The invention is not restricted to the slavish imitation of each and every one of the details described above, which have been set forth merely by way of example with the intent of most clearly setting forth the teaching of the invention. Obviously, devices may be provided which change, eliminate, or add certain specific details without departing from the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pre-hung door assembly having side and top frame members and side and top Z-bar members fixed to and spaced from said frame members, the improvement comprising severable fastening means extending in tension between a frame member and a Z-bar member and holding them together, and a removable spacer means retained between said frame and Z-bar members and laterally offset from the axis of said fastening means and extending across the width of the frame member, whereby said fastening means may be severed after the door is mounted by a relatively long longitudinal stroke of a severing tool extended from the door front straight in to the fastening means.

2. In a pre-hung door assembly having side and top frame members and side and top Z-bar members fixed to and spaced from said frame members, the, improvement comprising severable fastening means extending in tension between a frame member and a Z-bar member and holding them together, and a removable spacer means retained between said frame and Z-bar members and to one side of said fastening means and extending across the width of the frame member, whereby said fastening means may be severed after the door is mounted by a relatively long longitudinal stroke of a severing tool extended from the door front straight in to the fastening means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,216,066 11/1965 Hadacek 20-16 FOREIGN PATENTS 519,845 12/1955 Canada.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner. KENNETH DOWNEY, Examiner.

W. T. DIXSON, JR., Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A PRE-HUNG DOOR ASSEMBLY HAVING SIDE AND TOP FRAME MEMBERS AND SIDE AND TOP Z-BAR MEMBERS FIXED TO AND SPACED FROM SAID FRAME MEMBERS, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING SEVERABLE FASTENING MEANS EXTENDING IN TENSION BETWEEN A FRAME MEMBER AND A Z-BAR MEMBER AND HOLDING THEM TOGETHER, AND A REMOVABLE SPACER MEANS RETAINED BETWEEN SAID FRAME AND Z-BAR MEMBERS AND LATERALLY OFFSET FROM THE AXIS OF SAID FASTENING MEANS AND EXTENDING ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE FRAME MEMBER, WHEREBY SAID FASTENING MEANS MAY BE SEVERED AFTER THE DOOR IS MOUNTED BY A RELATIVELY LONG LONGITUDINAL STROKE OF A SEVERING TOOL EXTENDED FROM THE DOOR FRONT STRAIGHT IN TO THE FASTENING MEANS.

Images