RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from NZ586057 dated 10 June 2010, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a mounting apparatus. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus and related method to assist with lifting and fitting a door or other item such as joinery pieces.

BACKGROUND ART

As those who have fitted a door to a door jamb will appreciate, this task involves lifting what can often be a heavy item (the door) and holding this in a fixed position for a period of time while the door is fitted to hinges and the load taken up by the fasteners. For a lighter door, two people working together with one holding the door whilst the other fits the door may complete this task. Alternatively one person may do the job but needs to pack the door from underneath with shims and pry bars to a desired height and then try to hold the door in the desired vertical orientation during fitting. Neither of these methods is adequate, particularly in commercial applications where many doors need to be fitted ideally by one person and without injury.

Ideally a device is used that makes it easy to manoeuvre a door into position and retains the door in a desired vertical orientation without the user having to hold the door and where the door height may be adjusted to align the door to the anchor point(s) e.g. hinge points. The apparatus should ideally also be simple to use, avoid injury to the user, be inexpensive to manufacture and be durable.

Door lift apparatus already exist. An example is that described in US 6,231 ,034. In this patent, the door lift apparatus described comprises two U-shaped channel sections, one being a base section that receives the door while the second section holds one end of the door to provide vertical support. The two sections mate with the door via a series of holding members being a handle attached to a threaded rod and in turn to a base pad. The rod threads through the U- shaped channel wall and the pad mates with the door. The door is lifted up or down via adjustable caster wheels mounted on side supports. An end wheel is provided to assist with manoeuvring the door into position that is engaged by tiling the door on its side. A number of drawbacks exist with the design described in US 6,231 ,034. Firstly, manoeuvring the door by tiling may be acceptable for lightweight doors however, this approach presents an unacceptable risk for heavier doors. Even for lighter doors, the tiling action places the user at risk of injury or loss of control might result in the door and lift apparatus damaging walls or other structures. Secondly, the door lift apparatus described only provides a small degree of support in the vertical orientation. A further disadvantage is that, to fix the door, multiple holding members need to be adjusted and mated with the door taking time and again risking injury while the members are tightened into position.

It should be noted that the above discussion refers to doors being mounted to door jambs however, it should be appreciated that such apparatus have applications to fitting other objects. By way of example, such apparatus may be used to fit gates to posts. Reference to doors should not be seen as limiting.

It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice. All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art in any country.

It is acknowledged that the term 'comprise' may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term 'comprise' shall have an inclusive meaning - i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term 'comprised' or 'comprising' is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description that is given by way of example only.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Broadly, the apparatus relates to a device that makes the process of fitting a door to a door jamb much easier. The apparatus retains the door in a desired orientation vertically and horizontally, allows for easy movement of the door to the door jamb location and allows for fine adjustment of the door height, helpful when positioning a door.

For the purposes of this specification, the term 'door' and 'door jamb' are used for ease of reference however this should not be seen as limiting as the apparatus may be used for fitting other panel objects to fixtures such as fitting gates to posts, fitting wall panels to a joist or joists, fitting an office screen to a wall or mount and so on.

In a first embodiment, there is provided a door mounting apparatus for mounting a door to a door jamb including: a. a base chassis mounted on wheels with two ends for holding the base of a door; b. at least two opposing door support frame members upwardly extending from the base chassis that receive the door there between wherein, at least one support frame member has at least one door holding member movably attached to the said support frame member for holding a door between the door holding member and the opposing door support frame member;

c. at least two opposing levers at either end of the chassis wherein the door rests on one end of the levers and the opposing end of the levers may be pulled thereby lifting the door via a fulcrum effect.

In a second embodiment, there is provided a method of fitting a door to a door jamb by positioning the door into the door mounting apparatus substantially as described above, holding the door in place by activating the door holding member, moving the apparatus by rolling the apparatus on the chassis wheels to a position approximately aligning the door and the door jamb, adjusting the height of the door via the lever or levers and installing a fastener or fasteners linking the door to the door jamb.

Advantages of the apparatus and method include ease of manoeuvring, ease of use, rapid use as the design may only utilise one holding member, ease of height adjust via only two simple levers. The apparatus is also simple to manufacture and use and is cost effective to produce.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description that is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a plan view of an embodiment of the door mounting apparatus;

Figure 2 illustrates a detail perspective view of the chassis portion of one embodiment of t e door mounting apparatus;

Figure 3 illustrates a side elevation view of one embodiment of the door mounting

apparatus;

Figure 4 illustrates a rear elevation view of one embodiment of the door mounting

apparatus;

Figure 5 illustrates a front elevation view of one embodiment of the door mounting

apparatus;

Figure 6 illustrates a perspective front elevation view of the door mounting apparatus;

Figure 7 illustrates the rear of the door mounting apparatus holding a door panel;

Figure 8 illustrates a door being manoeuvred into position using the door mounting

apparatus; and

Figure 9 illustrates a door being fitted to a door jamb using a door mounting apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is now described with reference to a detailed description of the mounting assembly and a related method of use.

As noted above, reference is made to a door being fitted to a door hinge. This should not be seen as limiting as the apparatus may also be used to fit other door like structures, in one further example being fitting a gate to a post. Where a door is referred to, the door comprises a rectangular shape with a door handle and the door is hinged on one side to a door jamb. Doors may be fireproof doors, solid core doors, and unusually sized doors such as particularly high stud doors, room divider doors as well as standard hollow core doors.

In a first embodiment, there is provided a door mounting apparatus for mounting a door to a door jamb including: a. a base chassis mounted on wheels with two ends for holding the base of a door; b. at least two opposing door support frame members upwardly extending from the base chassis that receive the door there between wherein, at least one support frame member has at least one door holding member movably attached to the said support frame member for holding a door between the door holding member and the opposing door support frame member;

c. at least two opposing levers at either end of the chassis wherein the door rests on one end of the levers and the opposing end of the levers may be pulled thereby lifting the door via a fulcrum effect.

As should be appreciated from the above, the apparatus essentially carries the door on a chassis and holds the door in a vertical orientation via opposing supports. The chassis is mounted on wheels such as castors, hence, once the door is in place, the apparatus and door can be easily positioned adjacent a door jamb without the need to tilt or lift the apparatus and/or door avoiding risk of injury or loss of control and damage to the door and/or surrounding structures. The importance of using a mounting apparatus becomes almost essential in certain situations. A non-limiting example is in the fitting out of a hotel where each room requires the fitting of at least two doors, one of which is typically a fireproof door weighing over 75kg. In this situation the door fitter may need to install multiple doors in any one day of construction and any time saved (as well as avoiding injury, damage to structures and so on) is very important. The inventor has found that where traditional shims and levers are used, two people working together may fit up to 6 fireproof doors per day per day. If the door mount apparatus described above is used, up to 20 fireproof doors may be installed per day by only one person. This is achieved by the door mount apparatus retaining the door in a stable position allowing the user to have their hands free to focus on the installation of the fasteners rather than lifting and adjusting shims, levers and the like. The cost savings in time and labour are therefore very apparent.

As noted above, the height of the door may be adjusted via levers located on either end of the chassis. The fulcrum effect of the levers can easily adjust the door height. The length of the lever that is pulled by the user is in one embodiment to approximately waist height thereby making it easy for the user to reach and adjust the door height. This long lever arrangement also means that little effort is required on the part of the user to lift the door, even when the door is of a considerable weight. As should be appreciated, the length of the lever may be adjusted to suit the desired ease of use and degree of fulcrum effect desired. In a further embodiment, the length of the lever may be adjustable by use of a telescoping adjustable length lever. In one embodiment the door may be lifted by at least 40mm from the chassis channel base. Additional height may be achieved by either packing the whole door mount apparatus or instead may be achieved by adjusting the length of the lever under the door. In a further embodiment, the width of the levers on either end of the chassis may be adjustable to allow for differing width doors or other items moved. One adjustment method may be to fit at least one of the levers to a rail along which the lever moves and is fixed. In another embodiment, the lever may have extending pins that are received with slots in the chassis channel side walls and the slots act as guides allowing the lever or levers to be moved in a horizontal direction. In one embodiment, the pins may be located at the lever pivot point.

In one embodiment, the base chassis may include a U-shaped channel with outer plates, the wheels noted above, being mounted to the outer plates with the base of the U-shaped channel being located between the wheels. The U-shaped channel comprises a base with opposing sides and the base may be of a width sufficient to accept a wide range of width doors or other items along. In one embodiment, the door or other item is placed adjacent a non-adjustable support member side of the channel width and the adjustable support member (holding member) is moved relative to a frame to engage and hold the door to abut the non-moving support member. Further, the width of the outer plates is sufficient to ensure that the apparatus does not easily tip over when a door is retained therein. In one embodiment, the width of each outer plate may be approximately 300-600mm. The inventor has found that a chassis formed from a single pressed section is:

(a) stronger as joints are not used;

(b) lighter as joining parts are not required;

(c) cheaper to manufacture as pressing is a simple and quick technique as opposed to needing to form joints and using fasteners or welding the different parts together; simple to reproduce in bulk. In one embodiment, the door holding member may be a pad attached to a threaded rod and handle. As noted above, one of the disadvantages of the art is the use of multiple holding members that need to be fastened against the door in order to hold the door in position. An advantage of this embodiment is that there is only one holding member that needs to be adjusted and fitted in place against the door. In a further embodiment, the door holding member is located approximately at the user's waist height, has a high leverage and is an easily reached handle. As may be appreciated, the design of this door holding member may be simple to use yet still achieve a solid hold on the door. An example that meets these criteria is a winder handle that turns a threaded rod which, when rotated threadedly engages the support frame and forces an ideally wide footprint pad against the door. In one embodiment, the pad may be a disc shape with a diameter of 200-600mm.

In one embodiment, the one door support frame member includes a door holding member and the opposing door support frame member is a plate shaped structure. Advantages of having only one door holding member are described above. Mating this one support member with a plate shaped structure ensures a wide spread support results with minimal point loadings on any holding supports. The art teaches of using multiple point load holding members yet until all are tightened, the door is not supported and there is the risk that one or more of the holding members may fail, a greater likelihood given the high mechanical loadings present on these members. By contrast the door mounting apparatus of this application uses members (only two in one embodiment) that oppose each other and spread the load widely avoiding risk of failure at any one point. The plate shaped structure may also be shaped to take the initial load when the door is inserted into the channel and thereby allows the user to tighten the holding member or members without risk of the door toppling. This design feature again reduces risk of injury to the user and damage to the door and surrounding structures.

In one embodiment, the opposing levers may be locked in position via at least one lockable extending member located between the lever and chassis. Optionally, the lockable extending member is a telescoping rod and wherein the rod is locked in place via at least one lock nut. As should be appreciated, whilst holding the lever or levers is possible, it is helpful to include a locking assembly to position the door height at a desired level allowing the user to then have both of their hands free to fit the door fasteners. The locking mechanism proposed of a lockable telescoping leg allows the user to easily adjust the height up and down by pulling or pushing the lever and then locking the preferred position. Other mechanisms may also be used besides a telescoping leg such as a piston assembly, an ironing board style lock, a locking pin arrangement and other fastening mechanisms without departing from the scope of the invention.

In one embodiment, the apparatus may include at least one side stabiliser attached to the base chassis having a leg extending from the chassis to provide additional vertical support to the apparatus. In one embodiment, two side stabilisers may be used that include a wheel mounted at one end of the legs and wherein the legs may be hinged to move the stabilisers from an open or perpendicular position relative to the chassis to a closed or parallel position relative to the chassis. As should be appreciated, an additional stabiliser(s) may be beneficial on uneven surfaces or for particularly heavy doors requiring greater stability. In the design described, the side stabilisers may be folded away when not required and folded out when required. The stabilisers may be held in an open or closed position (or intermediate positions) via various methods including a locking pin, an over centre lever or other mechanisms. The stabilisers may also be extendable e.g. via a telescoping rod to enable the length of the side stabiliser(s) to be adjusted. In a further embodiment, the door mount apparatus does not include any members to touch or intrude on the sides of the door. This aspect of the design has the advantage that the door may be closed while the door mount apparatus still retains the door. This offers a considerable improvement on the art as the door may be fixed to the door jamb and then closed to check the top, bottom and opposing side clearances. The door may then be re-opened whilst still retained in the door mount apparatus, adjustments made and then closed again until the fine adjustments are completed. Opening and closing the door also allows for access by others into the area being worked. An apparatus such as that described in the art e.g. US 6,231 ,034 uses a channel mounted along one side of the door preventing door closure unless the mount apparatus is removed. Uses of shims and levers also do not allow closure and re-opening of the door before the final fastenings are completed. Another reason why being able to close the door whilst in the mount

apparatus is that many commercial buildings are now fitted with metal stud framing. The door needs to be held in complete hung position, until the metal framing is diagonally braced on the hanging side of heavy solid core doors. The risk is that if this does not occur, the door will drop and potentially jam.

In a second embodiment, there is provided a method of fitting a door to a door jamb by positioning the door into the door mounting apparatus substantially as described above, holding the door in place by activating the door holding member, moving the apparatus by rolling the apparatus on the chassis wheels to a position approximately aligning the door and the door jamb, adjusting the height of the door via the lever or levers and installing a fastener or fasteners linking the door to the door jamb. It should be appreciated from the above description that the door mounting apparatus may be used for removing and resetting existing doors as well as for replacing existing doors or in new construction for mounting new doors. The apparatus supports a door allowing a single person to easily remove and resettle or replace or install a new door. The apparatus removes the need for use of shims and the like, and avoids risk of injury to the user and damage to the door or surrounding structures.

Advantages of the door mount apparatus and method should be apparent including ease of manoeuvring, ease of use, rapid use as the design may only utilise one holding member and ease of height adjustment via only two simple levers. The apparatus is also simple to manufacture and use and is cost effective to produce. The door mount apparatus also allows the door to be closed while still retained allowing for further ease of fitting.

WORKING EXAMPLE

Referring to Figures 1 -9, one embodiment of the door mounting apparatus 1 is shown that includes a chassis 2 formed from a plate having a U-shaped cross section with a base 200, adjoining plates 18A, 18B extending from the channel sides 300. More detail of the chassis 2 can be seen in Figure 2. The chassis 2 is mounted on four castor wheels 15 via fasteners 19 to the chassis plates 18A, 18B. These castor wheels 15 are preferably strong enough to withstand a considerable load since they take the weight of the door 100. In one embodiment the wheels 15 may be 50mm double castor wheels 15. The chassis 2 includes a first door support frame member 1 1 extending from one of the chassis plates 18A. This member 1 1 includes a door holding member that moves relative to the support frame member to hold the door 100. The door holding member includes a winder handle 13, a threaded rod 12 and a door support disc pad 10. As the handle 13 is rotated, the threaded rod 2 moves through the door support frame member 11 either moving the pad 0 towards the door 100 or away form the door 100 depending on the direction in which the rod 12 is rotated and the direction of the thread.

The chassis also includes a second door support frame member 3 opposing the first door support frame member 11 extending from the back adjoining chassis plate 18B. The second member 3 is made up of a support plate or board 3 held in place via at least one stanchion 4. The stanchion(s) 4 are fastened to the support plate or board 3 via brackets 20 although other fastening methods such as welding may be used.

The pad 10 and plate 3 abut each other with the pad 10 being centrally located on the plate or board 3 face. A door 100 or similar structure may be fitted between the pad 10 and plate or board 3 and held in place. The apparatus 1 also includes two opposing levers 8. The upstanding portion of the lever 8 is pulled outwards and down by the user to lift the door 100 to a desired height. The lever 8 communicates via a pivot 7 to the opposing end of the lever 6. The door 100 rests on this opposing end of the lever 6. When the lever 8 is pulled out and down, the lever pivots about axis 7 moving the opposing end of the lever 6 and lifting the door 100 resting thereon. The lever 8 may be locked in place via a telescopic arm 9 that links the chassis 2 to the lever 8. When the desired height is reached, a butterfly lock nut 14 on the telescopic arm 9 is screwed in which locks the telescoping arm 9 and lever 8 in place. Separate telescopic arms 9 may be used on each lever 8 so that each lever 8 can be moved and locked independently of the other allowing the door 100 height to be adjusted on either side independently. Optionally, the apparatus 1 may also include one or more lateral stabilisers 5. In the embodiment shown in the Figures, a single side stabiliser 5 is shown on either side of the chassis 2. The stabiliser 5 includes a channel member with a caster wheel 16 at one end and the second end linked to the chassis plates 18A, 18B. The side stabilisers 5 may be used to help further stabilise the apparatus 1 when used on uneven ground or when the door 100 to be fitted is particularly heavy. In the embodiment shown in the Figures, the side stabilisers 5 can be moved from a closed position to an open position and vice versa. In the open position, the stabiliser 5 channel extends at an approximately perpendicular direction from the chassis 2. In the closed position, the channel 5 runs approximately parallel with the chassis 2. The stabiliser 5 may optionally be retained in a position intermediate the fully open perpendicular position and the closed parallel direction. The stabiliser 5 may be retained in position via a locking pin, ratchet system or other locking mechanism in the art (not shown).

Optionally, the width between the levers 8 may be adjusted to suit the door 100 or other object width. For example, one or both of the levers 8 may be moved in a horizontal direction via a rail system (not shown) within the chassis 2 channel. In an alternative arrangement, the lever or levers 8 may include pins (not shown) at the pivot axis 7 that extend through a guide aperture or apertures (not shown) in the chassis 2 channel side wall or walls 300 and through which the lever axis 7 pins may be moved.

To fit a door 100 to a door jamb 400 and allowing for example the door hinges 500 to be fitted, the door 100 is positioned into the door mounting apparatus 1 with the base of the door 100 located in the chassis 2 channel 200. The door 100 is then held in place by activating the door holding member 11 by turning the handle 13 and rotating the threaded rod through the support member 11 and forcing the support disc pad 10 against the door 100 securing the door 100 between the disc pad 10 and opposing support plate or board 3. The apparatus 1 is then moved into position by rolling the apparatus 1 on the chassis 2 wheels 15 and stabilisers 5 if required to a position approximately aligning the door 100 and the door jamb 400 (see Figure 8). The door 100 height is then adjusted via the lever or levers 8 and locked into place via the telescoping 9 rod locking nut 14 to align the door hinges 500 with the receiving cut out on the door jamb 400 (see Figure 9). In the embodiment shown, the levers 8 may be used to adjust the height by up to 40mm. This height may be further increased by use of a longer lever or levers 6 or by lifting the whole apparatus 1 up e.g. via use of shims (not shown). The door 100 is then hung via a fastener or fasteners, (hinges 500 shown in Figures 8 and 9) to the door jamb 400. The door 100 is then shut within the door jamb 400 with the apparatus 1 still retaining the door 100 to check the alignment of the remaining door 100 edges and then re-opened and adjusted as necessary. Once completed, the door mount apparatus 1 may then be removed from the door 100 by dropping the chassis 2 by lifting the lever(s) 8 and slipping the door mount apparatus 1 from under the door 100.

An alternative embodiment of the door mount apparatus 1 uses a slightly different design. In this embodiment, the door mount apparatus 1 still relies on the same principles of a chassis 2 with two opposing door holding members 11 , 3. The chassis 2 is formed from three parts rather than one piece as in the first embodiment. The levers 8 have a different shape to the first embodiment however the function is identical. The door holding member 11 is slightly more elongated but again performs the same function. Finally, the stanchions 4 on the rear of the apparatus 1 are simple bars in this second embodiment and further angle shaped stanchions 4 are used on the front side as well. As should be appreciated, additional stanchions do not alter the apparatus functionality other than the further stabilise and support the apparatus (and door when a door is mounted therein).

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the claims herein.