The present invention relates to a fastener device for adjustably fitting a frame in a wall opening and being of the kind defined in the preamble of Claim 1.

The inventive fastener device is thus of the kind that includes an externally screw-threaded sleeve which engages an internal screw thread connected to a frame me ber _/ wherein the sleeve includes sleeve-turning means whereby the sleeve can be turned with the aid of an appropriate gripping tool.

There is known to the art a frame screw retailed by Programa AB, Box 241, 43401 Kungsbacka 1, Sweden, under the trademark Programa®. The known frame screw has the features afore- described. Two difficulties are encountered when fitting the known frame screw. A first of these difficulties is due to the sleeve of the screw being connected axially with a _, mounting screw that must be anchored in the wall construction and rotated relative to the sleeve, necessitating the screw to be delivered in several different types with different lengths of the anchoring screw. The second difficulty is that the frame must be aligned in the wall opening with the aid of wedges before fitting the frame screws.

The object of the invention is to provide a fastener device of the aforesaid kind which will enable separate fastener elements of selectable lengths to be used to anchor the device in the wall, and also to enable the frame to be brought to a correct position in the wall opening in a simple manner. By frame is meant a door frame or some other similar frame.

This object is achieved with a fastener device having the characteristic features set forth in the following indepen¬ dent claim.

Further developments of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims.

The effective length to which the plug can be unscrewed from the sleeve can be regulated by choice of the actual position of the plug in relation to the sleeve.

When screwing the plug into thread engagement with the internal screw thread in the sleeve, it will, of course, be ensured that the rearward part of the screwed-in plug will terminate axially short of the forward end of the sleeve, so that the sleeve can be screwed back along the thread on the plug even when the front opening of the sleeve has a waist which will not allow the threaded part of the plug to pass through.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to an exemplifying embodiment thereof and also with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 illustrates schematically a window frame fitted in a wall opening with the aid of inventive fastener devices; and

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II-II i Figure 1.

Shown in Figure 1 is a wall structure 1 having an opening 2 which is defined by wall surfaces 7. Positioned in the opening 2 is a window frame 3. The frame 3 is supported against the opening-defining surfaces 7 by means of spacing sleeves 15.

It will be seen from Figure 2 that the frame 3 includes a bore 13 which extends perpendicular to the rear frame member and also to the adjacent opening-defining surface 7. Each spacing sleeve 15 has an external screw thread 51 which engages a corresponding screw thread 171 on the wall of the bore 13. Alternatively, a plate 17 provided with an internal

screw thread 71 may be attached to the outside of the frame 3 (in this case the bore 13 may be slightly larger than the sleeve 15 and no screw thread 171 need be provided in the wall of the bore 13).

The sleeve 15 also includes an internal screw thread 152. The rear end-part of the sleeve is provided with a sleeve-turning element 40, which in the illustrated case has the form of a diametrical groove or slot for receiving a screw driver. Alternatively, the sleeve-turning element 40 may have the form of a sunken socket head. The frame 3 is aligned in the wall opening 2 by screwing the sleeves 15 out through their respective bores 13, so as to bring the out end 153 of respective sleeves 15 into abutment with a respective opening-defining wall surface 7. Naturally, the position of the frame can be corrected and finely adjusted, by commensu¬ rate screwing of the sleeves 15 in their respective screw threads- in a known manner.

A hole 11 is then drilled through the bore 13 and the sleeve 15 and into the wall 1. A' plug 29 is then inserted through the bore 13 and through the sleeve 15, such that the anchor¬ ing part of the plug 29 will protrude into the drilled hole 11. The rear end of the plug 29 is provided with a head 30 having an external screw thread 31 which fits the internal screw thread 152 of the sleeve 15. The plug 29 is first pressed into the bore 13 and through the sleeve 15 and then screwed into the hole 11 with the aid of a suitable tool (a screw driver) which engages a plug-turning element 35 (a diametrical slot) provided in the rear end of the plug head 30, wherein the outer screw thread 31 engages the screw thread 152 so as to enable the plug 29 to be screwed into the hole 11 to a required depth, for instance a depth at which the head 30 lies at the midway point of the sleeve 15. The opening at the front end of the sleeve 15 can therewith be reduced so as to enable the anchoring stem of the plug 29 to pass through but not the head 30 of the plug.

When the plug 29 has been positioned in the hole 11 and in the sleeve 15, a fastener element 25 is driven through an axial opening through the plug 29, said fastener element having the form of a screw (with slide plate 23) in the illustrated case. The screw 25 is inserted from inside the frame 3 through the bore 13 and into the sleeve 15 and through the plug 29. The rear parts of the plug 29 include a through passage which is larger than the stem of the screw 25, whereas the front part of the plug 29 is constructed so that it will be expanded by the stem of said screw. The head of the screw 25 supports against the rear edge of the plug head 30 inside the sleeve 15.

Naturally, a nail can be used instead of the screw 25, optionally.while using a driving tool.

The bore 13 may be covered with a plug and strips can be fitted to bridge the gap between the frame 3 and the wall surfaces 7 defining the opening 2. The threads 152, 171 have different pitches (and suitably the same'pitch direction).

The person skilled in this art will realize that subsequent adjustments can be readily made to a frame 3 that has been fitted in the aforedescribed manner, by appropriately screwing the sleeves 15 along the bore 13 with the aid of a tool in coaction with the sleeve-turning element 40.

The screw thread 31 of the illustrated embodiment has a pitch which is roughly half the pitch of the screw thread 171.