AU730616B2

AU730616B2 - Door frames

Info

Publication number: AU730616B2
Application number: AU23762/97A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Ross James Beaton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-05-06
Filing date: 1997-05-06
Publication date: 2001-03-08
Anticipated expiration: 2017-05-06
Also published as: AU2376297A

Description

P:\OPER\RSH\23762-97 spe 002doe-2 Janmry 2001 -1- DOOR FRAMES The present invention relates to door frames and more particularly to a metal section for use as the doorjamb and door head of a frame and which simplifies the installation of the frame.

Conventionally, door frames used in domestic dwellings and similar constructions comprising walls lined with plasterboard sheeting are secured to studs defining the door opening. The inside faces of the door jambs and door head of the frame abut against the edges of plasterboard sheeting on the wall within which the door opening is formed and the joint between the plasterboard and door frame is concealed by architrave applied to the door frame and overlapping the adjacent part of the plasterboard. The architrave is applied at both sides of the door frame and is installed by being cut to size, mitred, and then nailed to the door frame. Subsequently, the nail holes have to be filled, and the architrave primed 15 and painted.

The present invention relates to a door frame which obviates the need for an architrave and hence leads to a reduction in the cost of installing the door frame.

ooooo 20 According to the present invention, there is provided a door frame comprising opposed door jambs and a door head, said jambs and said head each being formed from a metal section of channel-shape having a base wall which carries a door stop and opposed side walls of a width such that when the section is applied to a door opening within a wall :with plasterboard sheeting on the wall around the opening, the opposed side walls of the section will overlap and lie closely adjacent to the outer surface of the plasterboard with the edge of the plasterboard being concealed with the interior of the section, the opposed side walls being perforated to permit a skim coat of plaster to be applied over the side walls and adjacent part of the plasterboard to conceal the presence of the side walls, wherein the metal sections forming the jambs and head are adjustable in width to suit the thickness of the wall.

S.Further according to the present invention, there is provided a door frame iZ omprising opposed door jambs and a door head, said jambs and head each being formed P\opcrnh\23762.97 spe 002.dow.2 luay. 2001 -2from a metal section of channel shape having a base wall which includes a door stop and opposed side walls of a width such that when the section is applied to a door opening within a wall with plasterboard sheeting on the wall around the opening, the opposed side walls of the section will overlap and lie closely adjacent to the outer surface of the plasterboard with the edge of the plasterboard being concealed within the interior of the section, the opposed side walls being perforated with a multiplicity of perforations over their entire area to permit a skim coat of plaster to be applied over the side walls and adjacent part of the plasterboard, the opposed side walls being offset inwardly relative to the base wall of the section whereby the section provides adjacent the base of each side wall an outwardly projecting lip which defines an edge for the skim coat which thereby conceals substantially the entirety of the side walls, the metal sections forming the jambs and head being adjustable in width to suit the thickness of the wall and each metal section comprising a first metal component shaped from metal strip material to provide one of said side walls and the door stop and also a lateral slot adjacent an edge of the door stop, and a second metal component shaped from metal strip material to provide the other of said side •..'.walls and a base wall portion which engages with a friction fit within the slot to permit width adjustment by relative displacement between the opposed side walls of the first and second components.

20 An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing for reference purposes part of a length of metal section used to form the door jambs and door head of a door frame; o: Figure 2 is a fragmentary side view showing the j ambs and head of the installed frame; Figure 3 is a cross-section showing the manner in which the metal section acts to conceal the edge of plasterboard sheeting around the door opening; Figure 4 is a cross-section showing an embodiment of the invention which is similar to that of Figure 1, but of variable width; and P:\OPER\RSHX23762.97 Spe 0.dwc2 Jarsssy. 2001 -2A- Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a clipping system between the head section and an adjacent jamb section.

The preferred embodiment of the invention (Figures 4 and 5) featuring widthadjustment will principally be described with reference to a door frame of fixed width (Figures 1 to 3) which does not itself fall within the scope of the appended claims.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings a door frame consists of opposed door jambs 2 and a door head 4 each constructed from the same basic metal section 6 which is shown in Figure 1. The basic metal section 6 is of channel form which provides a base wall 8 and opposed side walls 10. A smaller channel 12 extends outwardly from the base wall 8 to define the door stop. The opposed side walls 10 are perforated throughout their length with a multiplicity of perforations, the purpose of which is described below.

0 0 0e 0 0 0000 -3- The door frame is installed by applying the jamb and head sections 2,4 to the studding 14 (Figure 3) around the door opening. It will be noted from Figure 3. that the width of the metal section 6 is such that the spacing between the opposed side walls 10 of the section is slightly larger than the width of the studding 14 plus the plasterboard sheeting 16 applied to the opposite sides of the studding 14 so that the side walls 10 of the section will overlap the edge portion of the plasterboard 16 and lie closely adjacent to the outer surface of the plasterboard at each side of the door opening. Accordingly, the joint between the edge of the plasterboard 16 and the metal section 6 forming the door frame is concealed within the interior of the door frame.

Itwill also be noted from Figure 3 that the perforated side walls 10 of the metal section are slightly inwardly offset from the base wall 8 of the section so as to define a laterally-projecting lip 18 at each edge of the section. The perforations of the two side walls are such as to enable a skim coat of plaster to be applied over the side walls 10 and adjacent part of the plasterboard in order to conceal the presence of the side walls 10. The small inwards inset of the side walls 10 from the base wall 8 of the section forming the door frame accommodates the thickness of the skim coat which terminates smoothly against the outer face of the projecting lip 18.

The skim coat around the door frame can be applied very quickly and inexpensively e* e *o *o* WO 97/42390 PCT/AU97/00272 -4and will only marginally add to the cost of plastering. The added cost resulting from this will be significantly less than the cost of providing, installing and painting architrave in a conventional construction.

The metal section for forming the door frame can readily be produced from metal strip by roll-forming and then stamping to form the perforations in the opposed side walls. The formed and perforated metal strip can be cut to standard lengths in the factory so that door frame kits consisting of two jambs and a head of standard length and width can be supplied to installers.

It is to be noted that the width of one of the portions of the base wall 8 between the channel 12 and the adjacent edge of the section will be of a size to suit a standard door and different sections can be produced in which this dimension differs in order to suit standard doors of different thickness. Similarly, a range of sections of different overall width can be produced for use with different depths of wall. Alternatively, however, the section can be of two-part construction to permit a single section to be adjustable in width on site. An embodiment of the section with capability for width adjustment will now be described with reference to Figure 4.

As shown in Figure 4 the adjustable width section comprises a primary component which is shaped to provide one of the two perforated side walls 10 and the door stop 12.

Adjacent the edge of the door stop 12 remote from the side wall 10, the component 20 is shaped with a return fold 22 which defines a narrow slot 24. A secondary component 26 of the section is of substantially L-shaped form to provide the other perforated side wall 10 and a base wall portion 8a which locates with a friction fit within the slot 24 in the primary component 20. As will be apparent, by sliding the secondary section 26 laterally relative to the primary section 20 so that the base wall portion 8a extends into the slot 24 to a greater or lesser extent, the overall width of the section can be varied and the section will be retained at the selected width by friction engagement between the two components 20,26.

WO 97/42390 PCT/AU97/00272 It is to be noted that the slot 24 which receives the secondary component to facilitate width adjustment, can also act to receive a clipping lug to facilitate mutual attachment between the head section and adjacent jamb sections of the overall frame. This is illustrated schematically in Figure 5 wherein a first clipping lug 30 at the end of the head section 4 engages within the upper end of the slot 24 in the jamb section 2 with friction engagement, and a second clipping lug 32 of the head section 4 engages behind the adjacent base wall portion of the jamb section 2 with friction engagement, a similar pair of lugs being provided at the opposite end of the head section 4 for engagement with the other jamb section 2. In Figure 5, only the primary component of each section is illustrated, the secondary component having been omitted for clarity. In the end of the slot 24 which receives the lug 30, the base wall portion 8a of the secondary component is cut-away to prevent interference with the lug It is of course to be understood that in an alternative arrangement the clipping lugs 30,32 may be similarly formed at the upper end of each jamb section 2 to engage with the head section 4.

Although in the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5, the slot 24 in the primary component serves to receive with a friction fit the base wall portion 8a of the secondary component and also a clipping lug of the adjacent head or jamb, a section of constant width can also be formed with a corresponding slot in order to receive a clipping lug during assembly of the frame in the manner just described.

Although as described, the clipping lugs are integral with the head or jamb section, in an alternative arrangement two pairs of clipping lugs may be formed on a separate clip engageable with both the head section and adjacent jamb section.

Each of the embodiments described can be produced relatively inexpensively by rollforming metal strip. The laterally-projecting lips of each edge of the section define rolled edges which act to reinforce the section against damage to the exposed edge of the section and also to the adjacent edge of the plaster skim coat.

The embodiment has been described by way of example only and modifications are possible within the scope of the invention.

P:\OPER\RSH23762-97 spe doc-2 Janury, 2011 Throughout this specification and claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

*o

Claims

1. A door frame comprising opposed door jambs and a door head, said jambs and said head each being formed from a metal section of channel-shape having a base wall which carries a door stop and opposed side walls of a width such that when the section is applied to a door opening within a wall with plasterboard sheeting on the wall around the opening, the opposed side walls of the section will overlap and lie closely adjacent to the outer surface of the plasterboard with the edge of the plasterboard being concealed with the interior of the section, the opposed side walls being perforated to permit a skim coat of plaster to be applied over the side walls and adjacent part of the plasterboard to conceal the presence of the side walls, wherein the metal sections forming the jambs and head are adjustable in width to suit the thickness of the wall.

2. A door frame according to claim 1, wherein the opposed side walls are offset inwardly relative to the base wall of the section whereby the section provides adjacent the base of each side wall an outwardly-projecting lip which defines an edge for the skim coat. L o*

3. A door frame according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein each metal section comprises a first component providing one of said side walls and the door stop, and a 20 second component which provides the other of said side walls, said second component :o "o being frictionally coupled to the first component to permit width adjustment by relative displacement between the opposed side walls.

4. A door frame according to claim 3, wherein the first component is shaped to define a lateral slot adjacent an edge of the door stop and the second component engages with a friction fit within said slot. A door frame according to claim 4, further comprising clip means for coupling the respective ends of the head section to the adjacent end of the corresponding jamb section, said clip means comprising a clipping lug carried by one of the adjacent sections and engageable with a friction fit in the said slot of the other of said sections.

P:\OPERRSH\23762-97 qpe (102.doc-2 Jaaoay. 201I -7-

6. A door frame according to claim 5, wherein said clipping lug forms an integral part of one of said sections.

7. A door frame according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the jambs and head are each composed of metal strip material roll-formed to shape.

8. A door frame comprising opposed door jambs and a door head, said jambs and head each being formed from a metal section of channel shape having a base wall which includes a door stop and opposed side walls of a width such that when the section is applied to a door opening within a wall with plasterboard sheeting on the wall around the opening, the opposed side walls of the section will overlap and lie closely adjacent to the outer surface of the plasterboard with the edge of the plasterboard being concealed within the interior of the section, the opposed side walls being perforated with a multiplicity of *..a8m.~~h.misacmamllro VO"O• perforations over their entire area to permit a skim coat of plaster to be applied over the *OoOO side walls and adjacent part of the plasterboard, the opposed side walls being offset S" inwardly relative to the base wall of the section whereby the section provides adjacent the base of each side wall an outwardly projecting lip which defines an edge for the skim coat which thereby conceals substantially the entirety of the side walls, the metal sections oo00 forming the jambs and head being adjustable in width to suit the thickness of the wall and 20 each metal section comprising a first metal component shaped from metal strip material to provide one of said side walls and the door stop and also a lateral slot adjacent an edge of the door stop, and a second metal component shaped from metal strip material to provide the other of said side walls and a base wall portion which engages with a friction fit within the slot to permit width adjustment by relative displacement between the opposed side walls of the first and second components.

9. A door frame according to claim 8, wherein the metal strip material forming the first component is folded to form said lateral slot between opposed surface portions of the folded strip material.

A door frame according to claim 8 or claim 9, further comprising clip means P 1 cri,,hU23762.97 We 02.doc-3 Jarn0y. 2001 -8- coupling the respective ends of the head section to the adjacent end of the corresponding jamb section, said clip means comprising a clipping lug carried by one of the adjacent sections and engaged with a friction fit in the said slot of the other section.

11. A door frame according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the metal strip material is roll-formed to shape.

12. A door frame substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying drawings. DATED this 2 nd day of January, 2001 S* ROSS JAMES BEATON By his Patent Attorneys: DAVIES COLLISON CAVE