US3332274A

US3332274A - Hinge adjusting tool

Info

Publication number: US3332274A
Application number: US433886A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr William E Dunster
Original assignee: Amerock Corp
Current assignee: Amerock Corp
Priority date: 1965-02-19
Filing date: 1965-02-19
Publication date: 1967-07-25
Anticipated expiration: 1984-07-25

Description

July 25. 967 w. E. DUNSTER. JR 3,

HINGE ADJUSTING'TOOL Filed Feb. 19, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 25, 1967 w. E. DUNSTER, JR 3,332,274

HINGE ADJUSTING TOOL Filed Feb. 19, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 qmmam cSDumstC-m' A7 $45M jrr'r emayf United States Patent 3,332,274 HINGE ADJUSTING TOOL William E. Dunster, Jr., Rockford, Ill., assignor to Amerock Corporation, Rockford, 11]., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Feb. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 433,886 Claims. (Cl. 72458) This invention relates to a tool for adjusting a door hinge, and more particularly, to a tool for bending the hinge flanges which extend between the hinge curls and leaf to aline the door with the supporting frame.

One object of this invention is to provide a tool which accurately alines the door and the frame by bending the hinge flanges in a precise manner and which applies the force for bending the flanges only to the hinge flanges and flange supported curls,

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a door pivotally supported on a frame by a concealed leaf hinge,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a concealed leaf hinge,

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a door supported on a concealed leaf hinge showing the correction to the right needed to aline the door,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the hinge adjusting tool,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view along the line 55 of FIG. 1 with the addition of a fragmentary portion of the tool being attached to the hinge,

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the hinge, door and frame with the tool attached to reposition the door to the right,

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of a door supported on a concealed leaf hinge showing the correction to the left needed to aline the door,

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the hinge with the tool attached to reposition the door to the left.

To illustrate the invention, a concealed leaf hinge 10 is shown in FIG. 1 pivotally supporting a door 11 on a frame 12 for closing a frame opening 13. The unmounted hinge is illustrated in FIG. 2 and includes interfitting

curls

14 and 15 pivotally attached by a pivot pin 16 (see FIG. 1) extending through alined openings 18 in the curls and centered on the hinge pivot axis. The hinge is made of a material like ductile sheet metal and the door supporting curl 15 is formed by bending the free end of a flange 19 back on itself. This flange is formed integrally with a leaf 20 fastened to the door by flat head screws 22 extending through countersunk holes 21 in the leaf and driven into the door. The frame supported curls 14 are formed by bending the free ends of a pair of flanges 24 back on themselves. These flanges are formed integrally with and supported by frame leaves 25 which include countersunk holes 26 through which flat head screws 28 are driven to attach the hinge to the frame 12.

After the door is mounted on the frame by the hinge just described usually two to a door, the door frequently does not aline exactly with the frame, the frame opening, or with another adjacent door. The problem stems from the difliculty of holding and alining the door while positioning the hinges, where even a slight variance in the 3,332,274 Patented July 25, 1967 positioning of the hinge makes a large difference in the position of the extended end of the door. If the door overlaps the opening and if the misalignment is slight and in a direction requiring the door to be pivoted or moved in a plane parallel to the front of the frame, the most usual method of alining the door is to bend one or both hinges where the hinges are made of a bendable sheet material. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 3, if one corner of the door is to far to the left, it is usually possible to bend the hinge and move the door to the position indicated by the dotted outline 11A. The usual manner of bending the hinge is to apply pressure to the extended end of the door in the direction the door is to be shifted. Where hinges are made of bendable sheet material however, the material is usually of the same thickness and strength throughout and may bend in any of a number of places. Also, many of the hinges used are similar to the one just described where the leaves are concealed when the supported door is in the closed position, making it difiicult to insert a tool for prying on the hinge to adjust it.

In accordance with the present invention, a tool is provided for bending a mounted hinge in a precise manner requiring contact with only the hinge flanges and hinge curls, with no contact necessary with the hinge leaves, door or frame. With this tool, a lateral force is applied on the frame supported flange and curls to bend the flange and aline the door on the frame. The tool includes an anchor for clamping onto the frame supported flange and interfitting prying means for exerting a force between a stop on the anchor and the curls to bend the flange about the stationary frame leaf in either direction.

In FIG. 4 is illustrated a tool 30 wherein the anchor and the interfitting prying means takes the form of a base member 31 and a pry member 32, respectively. The base member 31 includes a flat plate portion 31a narrowed down at one end to form a handle 34. The end of the plate opposite to the handle is cut out leaving

legs

35 and 36 extending parallel from opposite sides of a plate edge

32a supporting fingers

38 and 39, respectively, which extend toward each other at right angles to the legs and parallel to the plate edge 32a.

The

legs

35, 36 and

fingers

38, 39 cooperate to form means for attaching the base member to the flange of the hinge on which the tool is to be used. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the distance between an end 38a of the finger 38 and the edge 36a of the leg 36 is sufiiciently greater than the span across the two flanges 24 to permit the finger 38 to clear the adjacent flange when the other flange is inserted inside the finger 39. The finger 38 is shorter than finger 39 to facilitate insertion of the flanges inside the fingers in this manner. With the flanges inside the fingers, the base member is moved laterally to overlap the finger 38 and the adjacent flange and attach the base member to the hinge. Of course, each tool can only be used on hinges having the span across the flanges within predetermined limits, since the fingers must both fit around and overlap the open edges to attach the base member.

The base member includes a stop against which the pry means is positioned when the tool is used to bend a hinge. In this embodiment, the stop comprises the forward edge 32a on the plate 32, or a stop plate 40 attached by lugs 41 on the base member extending through L-shaped slots 42 in the stop plate (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The L-shaped slots permit the stop plate to be moved with respect to the base member to either of two positions depending upon whether more or less space is needed between the base member and the curl to interfit the prying means. The stop plate may also be repositioned to gain optimum leverage between it and the prying means for moving the curl.

The pry member 32 is composed of a single flat plate formed to include a rectangular head portion 45 with an elongated handle 46 extending from one edge. The plate is bent at approximately 30 degrees where the head and handle join, while the head is bent at right angles in the opposite direction and parallel to this first bend, midway between the first bend and an opposite edge or tip 48 of the plate. The outer face 49 on the head, facing in the opposite direction to that of the handle, is beveled adjacent the tip 48 to make it easier to insert the tip between the stop means and the curl. This outer face is thus positioned between the tip and handle to contact the clurl when the pry member is pivoted about the tip positioned against the stop means.

To illustrate the use of the tool, assume the door needs adjusted to the right as shown in FIG. 3. The base member 31 is attached to the flanges 24 as shown in FIG. 5, with the handle extending to the left of the hinge and the

fingers

38 and 39 inserted behind the flanges. The stop plate 40 is moved on the lugs 41 until it is in the position closest to the face 32a by shifting the plate towards the face and then laterally in the slots 42. The stop plate is so positioned because the lateral distance between the curls and plate face 32a is greater since the curls extend laterally from the frame flanges in a direction away from the face 32a. A lip 44 on the plate edge 32A helps prevent the tip 48 from extending on through the base member and contacting, and possibly marring, the frame.

To exert a force for bending the flanges 24, the pry member is interfit on the base member with the tip 48 between the stop plate 40 and the flanges 24. The handle 46 is then pivoted away from the frame in the direction of the arrow 50, causing the face 49 to contact the curl andthe tip 48 on the head to contact the stop plate. Since the points of contact are offset laterally along the head, the head acts as a short lever arm to amplify and impress between the curl and stop plate the force exerted on the handle. This lateral force is transmitted through the curls and through the stop plate and base member to spaced points on the flanges 24 to deflect and bend the flanges in a counterclockwise direction about the frame leaf. Since the door is preferably closed, the alignment of the door and frame may be observed to determined the amount of bending necessary.

The door may also be adjusted to the left as shown in FIG. 7 by a similar use of the same tool. To accomplish this the door is opened and the base member anchored on the flanges 24 with the handle 34 extending to the right in the drawings, as shown in FIG. 8. The stop plate is moved back away from the plate face 32a since the lateral spacing between the face and curl is less. Thereafter the pry member is inserted between the curls and the plate face and pivoted in the direction of arrow 54 to bend the flanges 24, and reposition the door to the left.

In this manner, the tool impresses the force for bending the frame supported flanges only on the flanges and curls without contacting the hinge leaves, frame or door. The spacing between the curl and door is not affected and there is no force impressed tending to loosen the hinge from the door and frame.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tool for adjusting a hinge supporting a door on a frame and including a flange adapted to be fastened to the frame and support a curl attached to the door and spaced from the frame by the flange, said tool comprising, a base member including a rectangular flat plate, a pair of legs extending parallel from one edge of said flat plate and spaced apart to span the flange, a finger supported from each leg extending towards each other and adapted to hook behind the flange and releasably at tach the base member thereto, a stop plate, means sup porting said stop plate on said flat plate for movement normal to said one edge of said base member, an elongated pry member including a handle and an attached head, said head including an edge positioned opposite to said handle adapted to interfit against said one edge of said flat plate or against said stop plate, said head including a face positioned to contact said curl when said tip is interfit with said one edge or said stop plate and said fingers are positioned to attach said base member to said flange, whereby when in this position said pry member can be pivoted about said beveled edge to bring said face against said curl to move said curl and bend the flange for repositioning the door on the frame.

2. A tool for adjusting a hinge supporting a door on a frame and including a flange adapted to be fastened to the frame and support a curl attached to the door and spaced from the frame by the flange, said tool comprising, a base member including a flat plate, parallel legs extending from one edge of said flat plate and spaced apart to span the flange, fingers supported from each leg extending towards each other and adapted to hook behing the flange to releasably attach said base member thereto, a plurality of stops supported on said flat plate, an elongated pry member including a handle and an attached head, said head including a tip adapted to interfit with one of said stops, a face on said head between said tip and said handle and positioned at an angle to said handle to contact the curl when the tip is interfit with said stop and the base member is attached to said flange, whereby said base member may be attached to said flange and said pry member interfit with one of said stops and pivoted against the curl to move the curl and bend the flange to reposition the door on the frame.

3. A tool for adjusting a hinge supporting a door on a frame and including a flange adapted to be fastened to the frame and support a curl attached to the door and spaced from the frame by the flange, said tool comprising, a base member including a flat plate portion, legs extending from one edge of said flat plate portion and spaced apart to span the flange, fingers supported from each leg extending towards each other and adapted to hook behind said flange to releasably attach said base member thereto, a stop on said plate portion, an elongated pry member including a handle and a head attached to said handle, a tip on said head facing away from said handle and adapted to interfit with said stop, and a face on said head positioned to contact the curl when the base member is attached to the flange and the pry member is pivoted about said tip fitting against said stop whereby said base member may be attached to the flange and said pry member interfit against said stop and pivoted against the curl to cause said face to move the curl and bend the flange to reposition the door on the frame.

4. A tool for adjusting a hinge supporting a door on a frame and including a flange adapted to be fastened to the frame and support a curl attached to the door and spaced from the frame by the flange, said tool comprising, a base member including parallel extending legs spaced apart to span said flange, fingers on said legs adapted to hook behind said flanges, a stop on said base member laterally spaced from said fingers, an elongated pry member including a tip adapted to interfit with said stop, a handle on said pry member, a face on said pry member positioned between said handle and tip to contact said curl when the tips is interfit with said stop, whereby said base member can be positioned with said fingers hooked behind the flange and said pry members interfit with said stop and pivoted by movement of said handle to contact the curl with said face to move the curl and bend the flange for repositioning the door on the frame.

5. A tool for adjusting a hinge supporting a door on a frame and including a flange adapted to be fastened to the frame and support a curl attached to the door and spaced from the frame by the flange, said tool comprising, a base member including anchor means for releasably attaching onto said flange adjacent said frame and including a flat portion adapted to lie along said frame, a stop positioned on said flat portion and laterally spaced from said anchor means, an elongated pry member including a tip adapted to interfit against said stop, a handle attached to said pry member, and a face on said pry member adapted to contact said curl when said pry member is pivoted about said tip positioned against said stop, whereby by fastening said base member on the hinge flange and pivoting said pry member about said stop a force may be exerted to move the curl and bend the supporting flange for adjusting the position of the door .on the frame.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 600,171 4/1948 Great Britain.

CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

G. P. CROSBY, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

5. A TOOL FOR ADJUSTING A HINGE SUPPORTING A DOOR ON A FRAME AND INCLUDING A FLANGE ADAPTED TO BE FASTENED TO THE FRAME AND SUPPORT A CURL ATTACHED TO THE DOOR AND SPACED FROM THE FRAME BY THE FLANGE, SAID TOOL COMPRISING, A BASE MEMBER INCLUDING ANCHOR MEANS FOR RELEASABLY ATTACHING ONTO SAID FLANGE ADJACENT SAID FRAME AND INCLUDING A FLAT PORTION ADAPTED TO LIE ALONG SAID FRAME, A STOP POSITIONED ON SAID FLAT PORTION AND LATERALLY SPACED FROM SAID ANCHOR MEANS, AN ELONGATED PRY MEMBER INCLUDING A TIP ADAPTED TO INTERFIT AGAINST SAID STOP, A HANDLE ATTACHED TO SAID PRY MEMBER, AND A FACE ON SAID PRY MEMBER ADAPTED TO CONTACT SAID CURL WHEN SAID PRY MEMBER IS PIVOTED ABOUT SAID TIP POSITIONED AGAINST SAID STOP, WHEREBY BY FASTENING SAID BASE MEMBER ON THE HINGE FLANGE AND PIVOTING SAID PRY MEMBER ABOUT SAID STOP A FORCE MAY BE EXERTED TO MOVE THE CURL AND BEND THE SUPPORTING FLANGE FOR ADJUSTING THE POSITION OF THE DOOR ON THE FRAME.