Door

The present invention concerns a door provided with a decorative or informative sign arranged on at least one side of the door leaf.

Many doors have some form of decoration, in the form of windows of various formats and sizes, on their front. These windows may be round, oval, rectangular, etc. The windows are always surrounded by a frame that is screwed onto or glued onto the actual door leaf.

Some doors are provided with, in addition, a name plate or an address designation, which may be glued onto, screwed onto, or painted onto the door.

Many internal doors are designed such that they comprise a frame, which may be divided into several sections, surrounding an area, known as the door panel, which normally has a thickness that is somewhat less than that of the door frame.

The present invention concerns the achievement of a further type of decoration or information for the door, which can be used not only on outer doors but also on inner doors. Thus, it may be a case of a purely decorative decoration, or of such a decoration that also comprises information about, for example, the name of the occupant or the house number, or in the case of office premises, the name of the person in the room or the function in the room to which the door leads.

The purposes of the invention described above are achieved with a door that comprises a door frame that surrounds at least one surface or a space that can be accessed through a slit in at least one side of the door, or in the end of the

door, which slit makes it possible to carry out at least one of introduction and exchange of a decorative or informative sign.

The invention will now be described in more detail in the form of a pair of non-limiting embodiments, illustrated with the aid of the attached drawings, where Fig. 1 shows a frontal view of a door with a decorative sign according to a first embodiment, with a decorative sign partially inserted from the upper edge of the door frame, Fig. 2 shows a frontal view of a door with a decorative sign according to a second embodiment, with a decorative sign partially inserted from the side of the door frame, and Fig. 3 shows a frontal view of a door with a decorative sign fully inserted into the door frame.

Fig. 1 shows one side of a door comprising a surrounding door frame 1. The door frame in this case is rectangular, with a sole opening, surface, or panel 2. The drawing makes it clear that the door frame 1 comprises at its upper edge a slit through which a sign 3 can be inserted in order to become visible within the door frame 1, i.e. in the door panel 2, when it has been inserted fully into its place.

Grooves are arranged in the door frame 1, which grooves have been milled in that side of the frame that faces towards the opening 2 such that they can guide the sign 3 as it is inserted into the door frame 1, and hold it in place in the door frame.

The sign 3 is shown in this case as a decorative sign, but it is, of course, possible that the sign may contain other information. It may be, for example, a name plate, or it may have, as is shown in the drawing, a solely decorative func-

tion showing a picture of some form. It may also have only a particular colour - one that preferably differs from that of the door frame 1.

It is not necessary that the door panel 2 be rectangular as in the example shown: it may be, for example, divided into several sections. In this case the door has several door panels, each one of which has an associated slit in the door frame 1 for the introduction of the sign 3. It is, naturally, possible for the door panel in principle to have any freely chosen shape, although it is probably the case that oval, circular and rhombic shapes are in practice the most common alternatives to a rectangular or square shape. The form of the sign 3 must, of course, be adapted to the size of the slit through which it is to be inserted. However, if the door frame comprises several door panels 2, the slit for the introduction of the sign 3 should be arranged at the side of the door frame 2, and it should preferably be arranged in that side that is in opposition to the lock and handle 4 of the door, as is shown in Fig. 2, even if in this case, the drawing shows only a single door panel.

If the door in question is intended to be used as an external door, the door frame 1 may be provided with a transparent covering sheet, behind which the decorative or informative sign 3 is placed such that the sign is protected.

The door when used as an external door may be provided with a window, where the frame of the window also constitutes the external frame for the sign that is placed inside of the window. The decorative or informative sign 3 in this case is then placed in the same manner as that described above, such that it is preferably held in place between two glass regions of the window. If the decorative or informative sign 3 is

transparent, it is then possible to obtain at evening the extra effect that the sign is indirectly illuminated from behind, from the illumination that is lit in the space behind the door.

It is also conceivable that a recess be placed in the door within the contour of the door frame 1, such that the decorative or informative sign 3 is located in front of this recess. An illumination arrangement may then be placed in the recess, such that the decorative or informative sign 3 can, if it is of transparent material, be illuminated from the rear in order when it is dark to reinforce the decorative effect, or to make the information more visible and easier to read.

It is thus possible that the door be designed such that the door panel 2 is completely covered on one of its sides, i.e. that one side of the door is completely smooth, while the other side demonstrates one or several door panels in the form of recesses in which the informative or decorative signs 3 are visible.

A door according to the invention may be of any material at all, and it may be used as an external door or an internal door.

Since the door frame has been provided with a slit such that it is possible to insert or exchange the information without it being necessary for anything else to be removed from the door, it is possible in a very simple manner to change the decoration or information that is to be displayed. The decoration or information does not normally need to be screwed or glued onto the door in order for it to remain in place.

The decorative sign may be, as has been mentioned above, a sign with a surface in a single colour, or it may comprise a picture or any other depiction at all. It may also be formed from a flat sheet of a wood type or a laminated sheet, the appearance of which deviates from that of the door frame that surrounds the decorative sign. The decorative or informative sign may be, as has been mentioned above, made from any suitable material, and this comprises also transparent material.

It is, of course, possible for the invention to be varied in many other ways, within the scope of the attached patent claims .