Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Openwork; e.g. – truss – trellis – grille – screen – frame – or... – Outside corner or peripherally bordered
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-27
2002-08-13
Friedman, Carl D. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Openwork; e.g., truss, trellis, grille, screen, frame, or...
Outside corner or peripherally bordered
C052S204100, C052S309900, C052S656500, C052S742130, C052S742150
Reexamination Certificate
active
06430889
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to structures by which panel elements are mounted in openings in static structures, and is particularly applicable to a doorway side light that contributes support to a door jamb.
2. Prior Art
Doorways such as exterior entrance doors for residences typically have one or two door panels that are carried on frame members fixed in an opening. Each door panel swings on hinges attached to a vertical frame member or jamb. There is a hinge-side jamb and a latch-side jamb. The hinges define vertical hinge axes, and the center of gravity of the pivoting door panel, which corresponds more or less with the center of the door panel, is cantilevered or held at a horizontal distance from the hinge axis of the door. Thus the weight of the door panel is applied to the jamb that carries the door panel, in a direction that urges the jamb to tilt toward the door panel. The specific direction changes, because the door panel is hinged and movable between open and closed positions in which the tilting or sagging force is perpendicular to the plane of the doorway or perpendicular, respectively.
A door and its frame members, including laterally spaced vertically elongated door jambs and a top frame or header, can be fitted and assembled in place, but it is convenient and often more accurate to use a door that is pre-assembled for installation as a unit (usually termed “pre-hung”). The installation involves carefully placing and affixing the finish frame that carries the door panel, in a rough framed opening that is slightly larger than required by the finish frame. The extra space is used not only for clearance when maneuvering, but also to permit adjustments to be made as necessary, so that the finished door frame will be nominally positioned.
It is possible deliberately to place the hinge axis of a door so as to tilt slightly. An inward tilt causes the door to swing closed when unsupported, and vice versa. However it will be assumed for purposes of this description that the building wall is nominally vertical and the door hinge axis is intended to be vertical as well (so there is no tendency of the door to swing open or closed). In that case, it is still very common that the rough framing members defining the opening may not be positioned exactly correctly. The door jambs nominally need to be coplanar with the wall of the building and vertical. The jambs must not only be vertical and parallel, but also should be precisely at the same elevation so that the header is horizontal and parallel to the sill.
Windows comprising sashes in frames, and pre-hung doors comprising a panel hingeably attached to a jamb of a frame, normally are installed in rough openings by means of wedges. The frame is placed in the rough opening, which as noted above is slightly larger than necessary. Wedges or shims that are inclined in opposite directions are slid over one another at spaced points around the frame, such as at two points along each elongated frame member such as a jamb or header, to adjust the spacing between the frame member and the edges of the rough opening. By incrementally increasing and decreasing the spacing at the respective points, the frame members are adjusted in position. This technique can be used to ensure that the frame members are mutually parallel and perpendicular, and to center the frame in the opening. After the frame is accurately placed, nails or screws are driven through the wedges to fix the position of the frame.
The rough framing members provide the ultimate load bearing function. The finish framing members, such as the jambs, carry the door panel by transferring the load to the rough framing members through the wedges. The wedges provide the rigid connection with the load bearing rough framing members. Although the wedges simply fix the width of gaps between the finish frame members (e.g., the jambs) and the rough framing studs at spaced points, they wedges provide a sufficient structural connection to bear the weight of the door panel. The gap between the jambs or other finish frame elements and the remainder of the wall can be stuffed with insulation and covered with moldings that conceal the gap between the jambs and the rough framed wall.
The foregoing technique basically involves building a rectilinear panel (such as a window or doorframe) and mounting it in a rough framed opening. The panel is not so much a structural element as it is a device that occupies a position, being mounted in a frame that is expected to provide any necessary structural support for the building by distributing and bearing loads apart from applying the loads to the panel.
For doors, especially for heavy solid wood doors and the like, it may be advisable to pay particular attention to supporting the jambs. The jamb on the hinge side will be especially subject to sagging forces from the door panel. A hinge-side jamb can be affixed to the rough framing members for support. The framing supporting the door jambs can be accomplished with doubled or tripled studs or similar reinforcing structural members. In this connection, a conventional rough framed opening may have doubled or tripled combinations of full length studs known as king studs, and shorter studs known as trim studs and cripple studs, which are attached along the sides of the king studs so as to extend under and over the horizontal header. In this way, the door jambs, particularly on the hinge side, can be intimately attached to the rough framing to solidly support the weight of the door.
In certain doorway and entranceway arrangements, problems associated with supporting the door jambs (or supporting a window or another sort of panel device) are compounded by the fact that areas immediately adjacent to the jambs of the frame on one or both sides, are occupied by decorative panels. For example, in an entranceway, so-called sidelights may be provided at a position laterally adjacent to the door jamb on one or both sides. This may comprise a decorative structure with panels and/or window panes (transparent or translucent) that occupy the full height of the door on either side. Inasmuch as this space is occupied by decorative panels, the nearest heavy load bearing rough framing members are on the lateral outsides of the entranceway. They are not simply on the lateral sides of the door jamb, which area is occupied by the door sidelights.
A typical entryway as discussed in most of the examples in this description has a traditional single door panel, but two panels are likewise apt. Two panels hinged at lateral outside jambs are a traditional configuration known as French doors. According to one possible arrangement, there are fixed side panel structures disposed symmetrically on both lateral sides of an entrance way, each being narrower than the width of the door panel. Such a side panel could be provided on only one side and if on both sides may be non-symmetrical or of some other width. Additionally, there are various specific structures of decorative side panels. They may have full height single decorative panels or several smaller panels. They may be configured with some transparent or translucent panels and some opaque panels. All the panels might be opaque, etc.
All these arrangements have at least one decorative panel mounted on at least one side of a jamb, and are apt for the structure according to the invention. The usual nature of the structural connections provided in a structure comprising panels as described, is that the panels are self contained unitary or modular structures that are mounted on the larger arrangement. The panels are placed adjacent to one another or hung in an array using framing members such as mutually perpendicular rails and stiles. This places the panels where appropriate for decorative purposes, but the panels do not contribute substantially to the structural strength of the construction. Instead, the panels are decorative place holders only.
Whether such panels are doors or sidelights or transoms, they typically comprise box-like panels that
Duane Morris LLP
Friedman Carl D.
Glessner Brian E.
Signature Door Co. Inc.
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