Miscellaneous hardware (e.g. – bushing – carpet fastener – caster – Hinge – Including adjustment for changing relative orientation of...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-11-01
2004-08-31
Hartmann, Gary S. (Department: 3671)
Miscellaneous hardware (e.g., bushing, carpet fastener, caster,
Hinge
Including adjustment for changing relative orientation of...
C016S382000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06782586
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to doors and hardware related thereto and, more specifically, to an Adjustable Reinforcing Hinge
2. Description of Related Art
Steel-framed doors are widely used in commercial construction. In particular, the hotel industry uses expensive, high-strength steel frames coupled with heavy duty doors in order to provide superior security as well as long-term durability.
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of a conventional hinged door assembly
10
used in hotels and other commercial buildings. The major components of the assembly
10
are a heavy-duty door
12
, a heavy-duty steel door frame
14
, and a door hinge
16
interconnecting the two via a hinge pin
18
.
The problem with the conventional assembly
10
is that when the assembly
10
is subjected to extreme conditions, such as repetitive door
12
slamming or if the door
12
is struck by maintenance (or other) equipment, it is not uncommon for misalignments to occur in the hinge
16
. In particular, the hinge
16
can become partially detached from either the door
12
or frame
14
, or both. Once the hinge
16
begins to separate from either of these elements, the door
12
will no longer open and close properly. In fact, it is very common for the door
12
to no longer provide a fume-tight seal when closed; this can create a problem in satisfying fire code requirements. If we turn to
FIG. 2
, we can examine one version of a device that seeks to repair or protect the hinges of a door such as depicted in FIG.
1
.
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of a prior art “shock pivot hinge”
20
as described in Gwozdz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,561. The Gwozdz pivot hinge
20
consists of a door leaf
22
attached to the door
12
via a plurality of mounting screws
26
, and a upper jam leaf
24
attached to the door frame
14
via a plurality of mounting screws
26
. The leafs
22
and
24
are interconnected by a pivot pin
28
; the pivot hinge
20
is installed such that the axis of the pivot pin
28
is the same axis as the hinge pin
18
(when the door
12
is closed). After installed, the pivot hinge
20
is intended to prevent the door
12
from sagging when opened due to damaged components in the hinge
16
.
While the Gwozdz device meets its goal when the hinge
18
dimensions are of the type for which the pivot hinge
20
is designed. If, however, a hinge
16
is encountered that is not typical (or at least one for which the pivot hinge
20
is designed to work with), then the leafs
22
and
24
and pivot pin
28
might not be functional. For example, if the gap between the top or side of the door
12
and frame
14
is particularly large, the upper jam leaf
24
might not be able to be securely mounted to the frame
14
, because the frame cannot be reached (due to the fixed length of the pivot pin
28
). Furthermore, if there are persistent misalignments between the door
12
and frame
14
, the Gwozdz device cannot be adjusted to compensate for them; the relationship between the pivot pin
28
and the leafs
22
and
24
is fixed, and there can be no adjustment. If we now turn to
FIG. 3
, we can examine yet another attempt at solving the problem of broken hinges.
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of another prior art reinforcing hinge, namely the “non-handed shock arrestor door pivot”
30
disclosed by Colamussi, U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,193. The Colamussi device
30
consists of a frame member
32
attached to the frame
14
by mounting screws
26
, and a door member
34
attached to the door
12
by mounting screws
26
. The members
32
and
34
each have first and second pivot apertures
36
A and
36
B, respectively, formed therethrough for accepting a pivot member
38
therein (i.e. a hinge pin). While the Colamussi device
30
does provide the user with the flexibility of installing the device
30
on either a right-handed or left-handed door
12
(i.e. doors with its hinges mounted on either the right or left side of the door), it does not solve the problems discussed above in connection with the Gwozdz device. Specifically, the pivot member
38
is inserted into the apertures
36
A or
36
B, and then screwed into place; this prevents the vertical distance between the frame member
32
and the door member
34
from being adjusted. Furthermore, as with the Gwozdz device, there is no way to adjust the orientation between the members
32
and
34
and the axis of the pivot member
38
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In light of the aforementioned problems associated with the prior devices and systems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an Adjustable Reinforcing Hinge. The hinge of the present invention should act to replace an broken or otherwise damaged door hinge. The reinforcing hinge should be easily adjustable once installed in order to achieve superior alignment between the door and door jam. The hinge should be dimensioned so as to simplify the initial locating and mounting of the hinge on the door and door frame. The process for installing the reinforcing hinge should include the use of the specially-dimensioned elements of the hinge to also act as alignment guides during the location and installation of the reinforcing hinge.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3469276 (1969-09-01), Dickson
patent: 3561038 (1971-02-01), Bennett
patent: 4228561 (1980-10-01), Gwozdz
patent: 4937916 (1990-07-01), Redman
patent: 5056193 (1991-10-01), Colamussi
Hartmann Gary S.
Steins & Associates, P.C.
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