05/380706

07/08/1975

07/19/1973

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52/291

52/223.600

E04F21/00; E06B3/70

52/291,223,227

3049202	Door construction	August 1962	Sailor et al.
3286424	Door construction	November 1966	Weyant
3621626		November 1971	Tylius

Abbott, Frank L.

Friedman, Carl D.

Oltsch & Knoblock

What I claim is

1. In a door having front and rear spaced sheet panels applied over opposite sides of a frame and including upper and lower edges, said frame including a vertical member extending from adjacent said upper door edge to adjacent said lower door edge, said frame member including upper and lower end portions and having opening means formed therein extending the length of said member from said upper to said lower end portion, a horizontal slot formed in said frame member between and spaced from said upper and lower end portions, said slot intersecting said opening means and extending from said rear sheet panel and terminating spacedly rearwardly of said front sheet panel, the improvement comprising a rod member fitting shiftably within said opening means, one end of said rod member being threaded and located at said upper frame member end portion, the other end of said rod member being threaded and located at said lower frame member end portion, adjustment means having parts threaded onto each of the threaded ends of said rod member, one adjustment means abutting the upper end portion and the other adjustment means abutting the lower end portion of said frame member, anchor means of a length greater than the transverse dimension of said opening means connected to said rod member and fitting within said slot for anchoring said rod against rotational movement within said opening means relative to said frame member, said anchoring means having a thickness less than the width of said slot permitting limited vertical movement of said rod member relative to said frame member during rotation of either of said adjustment means upon said rod member against said abutting frame member end portion to cause said frame member to be compressed between said adjustment means and bowed to provide a camber for said door with said front panel being of a convex configuration.

2. The door of claim 1 wherein said rod member carries a plurality of said plates longitudinally spaced along said rod, said frame member having a plurality of said horizontal slots formed therein, each plate located between said front and rear panels and fitting within a said slot.

3. The door of claim 1 wherein said door includes access means at the upper and lower end portions of said frame member for allowing rotation of either of said adjustment means upon said rod member after said door is hung.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an improved means for setting the camber of a door.

The door includes front and rear spaced sheet panels which are applied over opposite sides of a frame. The frame includes a vertical member which extends from adjacent the upper edge to adjacent the lower edge of the door and which has a longitudinal opening therein. A tensioning rod is shiftably carried within the longitudinal opening in the vertical frame member and extends from the upper end portion to the lower end portion of the frame member. Adjustment means are threaded onto the ends of the tensioning rod and abut the upper and lower end portions of the frame member. When the door is hung, either the upper or lower adjustment means can be turned, depending upon the location of the door and access to the adjustment means, so as to cause the door to be provided with a selected camber.

Heretofore, doors, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,049,202, having means for setting or adjusting the camber thereof were designed with the camber adjustment accessible only at the upper edge or lower edge of the door, depending upon whether the door was to be left or right-handed and whether the door was to swing inwardly or outwardly. Thus, the manufacturer of such prior art doors had to know how the door was to be used so as to position the camber adjustment in an accessible location. In this invention, the camber adjustment is located at both the upper edge and lower edge of the door, thereby allowing the manufacturer and the contractor more freedom in constructing and hanging the door. Additionally, the tensioning rod utilized in the door of this invention can be positioned in the same location for all doors, whether the door is intended to be utilized as a right or left-handed door, thereby reducing the door inventory of the manufacturer.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a door having means by which the camber thereof can be adjusted at either the upper or lower edge of the door at the option of the door user.

Another object of this invention is to provide a door having a universally located camber adjustment means which is accessible whether the door is right or left-handed or swings inwardly or outwardly and which reduces the door inventory of the manufacturer.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent upon a reading of the invention's description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of this invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the door having portions of the rear sheet panel thereof broken away for purpose of illustration.

FIG. 2 is an edge view of the door of FIG. 1 as seen along line 2--2 thereof.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of the door with a portion of the rear sheet panel thereof broken away and with parts of the camber setting means shown in disassembled and exploded form for purpose of illustration.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of a part of the camber setting means as seen along line 5--5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view of the edge portion of the door seen along line 6--6 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the door as seen along line 7--7 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the adjustment rod shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the door edge portion seen in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment illustrated is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It is chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its application and practical use to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention.

Door 10 shown pictorially in FIG. 1 includes a front sheet panel 12, a rear sheet panel 14 and a frame 16 interposed between the sheet panels. Panels 12 and 14 may be of aluminum sheet material secured such as by gluing or nailing to opposite sides of frame 16 which may be of a wooden or light-weight metal construction. Frame 16 includes a vertical member 18 which is preferably located at the latch containing edge of the door opposite the door hinge and which has an upper end portion 20 and a lower end portion 22.

Frame member 18 has a slotted opening 24 formed therein. Opening 24 extends longitudinally from upper end portion 20 to lower end portion 22 of the frame member and transversely from rear panel 14 toward front panel 12, terminating spacedly from the front panel. Each end portion 20 and 22 of the frame member is countersunk at 26 in alignment with opening 24 to accommodate parts of the tensioning means for the invention. At least one and preferably two or more horizontal slots 28 are formed in frame member 18 between its end portions 20 and 22. Each slot 28 extends in depth from rear panel 14 to a location rearwardly spaced from front panel 12 as seen in FIG. 4. Additionally, each slot 28 intersects opening 24 and extends completely across frame member 18. Slots 28 serve as accommodating anchoring locations for the tensioning means and as locations of relief to permit frame member 18 to be bowed, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The tensioning means for selectively setting the camber of door 10 includes a rod 30 having a threaded upper end 32 and a threaded lower end 34. At least one and preferably two or more anchor plates 36 are fixedly attached to rod 30 along its longitudinal dimension. Each plate 36 extends perpendicularly to rod 30. Both rod 30 and anchor plates 36 can be made of steel with the plates being welded to the rod. Rod 30 fits with clearance within opening 24 with each plate 36 fitting into a slot 28 in the frame member. Upper end 32 of rod 30 protrudes upwardly into countersink 26 at the upper end portion 20 of the frame member and lower end 34 of the rod protrudes downwardly into countersink 26 at the lower end portion 22 of the frame member. An adjustment nut 38 is threaded onto each end 32 and 34 of rod 30. One nut 38 abuts end portion 20 of the frame member 18 within its countersink 26 and another nut 38 abuts frame member end portion 22 within its countersink 26. To facilitate turning of nuts 38 onto rod 30, a washer 40 is positioned between each nut 38 and the shoulder created by countersink 26 at each end portion of frame member 18. Plates 36 are spaced apart the same distance as the spacing between slots 28. In assemblying door 10, rod 30 is located within frame member opening 24 prior to the application of rear panel 14 over frame 16.

The camber of door 10 is set by turning nuts 38 so as to place frame member 18 between countersinks 26 in compression and thus cause front panel 12 to be bowed outwardly or form a convex configuration to which frame 16 and rear panel 14 conform. The width of each slot 28 exceeds the thickness of each plate 36 so as to permit rod 30 to shift vertically relative to opening 24 and frame member 18 as nuts 38 are tightened. Additionally, the maximum transverse dimension of at least one of the plates 36 exceeds the depth of its accommodating slot 28 as measured between panels 12 and 14 so as to prevent rotation of the rod relative to frame member 18, thereby permitting nuts 38 to be tightened against frame member end portions 20 and 22 and door 10 bowed into a selected camber. By having a nut 38 located at each end of rod 30, the camber in door 10 can be set or adjusted by turning the nut 38 at either end of frame member 18 after the door has been hung depending upon which end of the frame member is the most accessible.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details above given but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims.