Technical field
[0001] The present invention provides a frame with posts, the width of which being adjustable
to the thickness of the wall. Furthermore, the invention relates to a door, wherein
this frame consists of two upright frames and one transverse frame, and a window,
comprising a frame with two upright and two transverse frames.
Background of the invention
[0002] A door is composed of two parts, namely a fixed part, called door frame or door casing,
and a moving part, called door leaf. The function of the frame is finishing the opening
in the structure of a building, and furthermore it offers a doorstop for the door
leaf and the possibility to attach hinges and lock pieces. The frame consists of two
upright posts and one transverse post which are attached to the wall and which are
composed of finishing frames at both sides of the wall which grip the casing, usually
provided with a doorstop. The frame of a window is often composed in the same way,
except with the difference that two transverse posts are provided instead of one.
[0003] When casing doors and windows, the frame needs always to be adapted to the thickness
of the wall, which often may differ, for example according to the type of stone, the
thickness of the plasterwork or the type of inner wall. At present, this is done by
sawing the casing down to size or by using a kind of prefab frame which operates by
means of a sliding system in the finishing frame.
[0004] However, the problem with this finishing system is that the finishing frame is located
too far from the casing which leads to aesthetic deviations. Moreover, only a difference
in thickness of maximum 2 to 3 cm may be accommodated, such that a dealer still needs
to have several widths of casings on stock.
[0005] Also, when sawing the casing down to size, several problems arise. As an individual
seldom has the necessary tools for sawing down a casing, the casing is often processed
to the exact width by a skilled person with a professional expensive saw. Then, the
skilled person has the choice to carry out this narrowing at its workshop, which is
not very practical from an organizational and logistical point of view, or he can
choose to saw down the casing at the construction site, which is again very laborious
and rather time-consuming.
[0006] As can be clearly concluded from the problems described above, there is a need for
a door and/or window frame which does not show these disadvantages. Hence, the present
invention provides a solution for these problems by providing a frame which can be
adapted in a very simple manner to the thickness of the wall.
Summary of the invention
[0007] In its most general form, the present invention provides a frame or casing according
to claim 1, wherein the width of the frame is adjustable. Because of this, the frame
may be ordered and assembled without knowing in advance the thickness of the wall,
and time-consuming and impractical pretreatments, such as sawing the casing down to
size, become redundant. Furthermore, it offers also a solution to the dealer who does
not need to store a vast stock of casings with a lot of different widths. Also, another
advantage is that the adaptation in the frames is not visible compared to the effect
obtained with the sliding system in the finishing frame.
[0008] The frame of the invention is further characterized in that a frame comprises two
partial frames which fit into each other, the first partial frame having a fixed width,
whereas the width of the second partial frame is adjustable. Preferably, the second
partial frame contains breaking areas in the longitudinal direction, along which the
partial frame may be easily and in a controlled manner be broken on certain predefined
locations. In this way, after fitting the second, shortened partial frame with the
first partial frame, a frame is composed and consequently also a frame with a smaller
width, which is adapted to the thickness of the wall.
[0009] Fitting the two partial frames together is done by means of a fitting means, wherein
the fitting means part of the second partial frame is at least partial complementary
to that of the first partial frame. This complementarity ensures that both partial
frames fit easily and firmly into each other. The fitting means consists of a male
and female part, preferably respectively a long lip with breaking areas and a recess,
wherein the recess is able to receive at least a part of the long lip. The female
part is present in the partial frame with fixed width, whereas the male, adjustable
part is present in the partial frame with adjustable width. To ensure additional anchoring
of both partial frames, in one embodiment of the invention both parts of the fitting
means are provided with interlocking hook elements.
[0010] Depending on the desired finishing, the frames of the casing can be made of MDF,
another type of fibreboard, a type of wood, aluminium or a plastic.
[0011] Finally, the present invention also relates to a door with an adjustable frame as
described above, consisting of two upright posts and one transverse post, and it further
provides a window composed of a frame with two upright and two transverse posts according
to the invention.
Short description of the figures
[0012]
Fig. 1 shows a cross section of a frame according to an embodiment of the invention
in an assembled state.
Fig. 2 shows a cross section of a frame according to another assembled embodiment
of the invention wherein the fitting means consists of interlocking hook elements.
Detailed description of the invention
[0013] The objective of the present invention is to provide a frame for a door and/or window,
the width of which being adjustable to the thickness of the wall in a simple manner.
For this, use is made of a frame consisting of two partial frames which fit into each
other, one having a fixed width, the other having an adjustable width.
[0014] Fig. 1 shows a cross section of a frame according to one embodiment of the invention
in an assembled state. The frame consists of a first (
2) and a second (
3) partial frame which is fitted between two finishing frames (
1, 4), which have been placed at both sides of the wall (
10). The first partial frame (
2) has a fixed width and comprises a doorstop (
11) for stopping the door leaf (
9), and a protruding lip (
7) with a recess (
12) in between. The second partial frame (
3) is characterized by an adjustable width and comprises a long lip (
8) provided with breaking areas (
5) by means of indentations made in the interior layer of the long lip (
8). The two partial frames (
2, 3) fit into each other by means of a (partially) complementary fitting means consisting
of a female part, namely the recess (
12) between the doorstop (
11) and protruding lip (
7) of the first partial frame (
2), and a male part, namely the long lip (
8) with breaking areas (
5) of the second partial frame (
3).
[0015] By means of triangular indentations at the interior, i.e. the non-visible side after
assembly, breaking areas (
5) are created in the long lip (
8) of the second partial frame (
3). Because of this, the desired part of the second partial frame (
3) may easily be broken off. When subsequently fitting both partial frames (
2, 3) together, the part where the long lip (
8) has been broken off, fits the recess (
12) under the doorstop (
11) in a concealed way. In this way, the width of the second partial frame (
3) can be shortened until, after fitting together, the total width of both partial
frames (
2, 3) approximately corresponds to the thickness of the wall. The fact that a recess (
12) has been provided which receives the broken part of the long lip (
8), has several advantages. It ensures a good connection and attachment of both partial
frames (
2, 3) after assembly, the broken part is not visible after assembly and no fragments may
further break off after the breaking.
[0016] As shown in Fig. 2, in another embodiment, the long lip (
8) of the second partial frame (
3) also comprises hook areas (
6) adjacent to the breaking areas (
5). In this figure, a hook element is located at the interior of the long lip (
8), between each two adjoining breaking areas (
5), here a semi-ball, which forms the hook area (
6), and attached to it is a more planar part which is rounded towards the next breaking
area (
5). The protruding lip (
7) of the first partial frame (
2) comprises a hook element essentially complementary to the semi-ball-shape of the
long lip (
8). By implementing the long (
8) and protruding (
7) lip in this way, it is possible to hook the second, tailor-made broken partial frame
(
3) into the first partial frame (
2), such that both partial frames (
2, 3) are more firmly fitted together before they are fitted in between both finishing
frames (
1, 4).
[0017] The assembly of a frame according to the present invention occurs in the following
manner. Firstly, the first partial frame (
2) is exactly positioned and levelled at its position and screwed tightly against the
wall. The screws are preferably introduced in the protruding lip (
7), as this part is not visible after assembly. The broken to size partial frame (
3) is hooked into the first partial frame (
2) and is thus immediately levelled. When using the embodiment of Fig. 1, the hooking
comprises sliding the broken to size long lip (
8) into the recess (
12). When mounting the embodiment of Fig. 2, the second partial frame (
3) with the part where the long lip (
8) has been broken of, is firstly positioned perpendicular to the protruding lip and
subsequently put in place by moving and rotating at the same time the second partial
frame (
3) with respect to the first partial frame (
2). The long lip (
8) is moved over the more planar rounded part until the broken part has disappeared
in the recess (
12) and the hook element is located in the complementary part of the protruding lip
(
7). Subsequently, along both sides of the composed frame (
2, 3) a finishing frame (
1, 4) is placed which ensures the further fitting of the composed frame (
2, 3). Eventually everything may be injected or fixed with construction foam.
[0018] The choice of material the frames are made of, depends on the desired finishing.
When a massive wooden door leaf is chosen, preferably the frame is also made of the
same type of wood. Painted door leafs may also be framed with massive wood but as
soon as the frame is also to be painted, preferably fibreboard is used and even more
preferably MDF, because of its better painting results. When washability is an important
factor, plastic or aluminium is preferred, which is also frequently chosen for its
metal colour. Moreover, other types of material are also possible, but as the previous
ones are the most common ones, others are not discussed here in further detail. Of
course, it is clear for the skilled person that the present invention is not restricted
to the described types of material, but that this discussion should be considered
as purely illustrative.
[0019] The above described frames are especially designed for the formation of a frame or
casing for a door and/or window. To this end, in the case of the door, at the side
two upright frames and on top one transverse frame is mounted. In the case of a window,
at the bottom also a transverse frame is provided. The invention thus protects also
a door and/or window comprising a frame with one or more features of the invention.
[0020] Two essential features of the invention are the presence of breaking areas (
5) and the combination of a hook connection (
6) with a protruding lip (
7), as a result of which the frames may be mounted much more easily and more rapidly,
both by a skilled person and a layman. Furthermore, the frame may be adapted to the
thickness of the wall in a very simple way, namely by breaking by hand, as a result
of which the measuring in advance and time-consuming and cumbersome pretreatments,
such as sawing down the casing, become superfluous. For a dealer, this has the advantage
that he only needs to have a limited stock of casings with several widths available.
1. Frame or casing comprising a number of upright frames and at least one transverse
frame, which are suitable to be mounted in a wall recess, characterized in that the width of the frames is adjustable.
2. Frame according to claim 1, wherein a frame comprises two partial frames that fit
into each other, of which a first partial frame has a fixed width and a second partial
frame has an adjustable width.
3. Frame according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the partial frame with adjustable width has
breaking areas in the longitudinal direction.
4. Frame according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 3, wherein the two partial
frames described in claim 2 fit into each other by means of an at least partially
complementary fitting means.
5. Frame according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, wherein the fitting means
consist of a female part, preferably a recess in the partial frame with fixed width,
and a male part, preferably a long lip with breaking areas on the partial frame with
adjustable width.
6. Frame according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 5, wherein the fitting means
consists of a number of interlocking hook elements.
7. Frame according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 6, wherein a frame consists
of MDF, another type of fibreboard, a type of wood, aluminium or a plastic.
8. Door comprising a frame according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 7, consisting
of two upright frames and one transverse frame.
9. Window comprising a frame according to any one of the claims 1 to 7, consisting of
two upright frames and two transverse frames.