Adjustable hinge repair assembly

Abstract

A replacement door hinge that facilitates the repair of a damaged door slab is provided. The replacement hinge includes a jamb side that is essentially the same as a conventional hinge to allow traditional mounting into the recess provided in the jamb for hinges. The slab side of the hinge is formed by a pair of opposing hinge leaves that are received on opposing sides of the door slab and include inwardly facing spikes and at least one or more countersunk screw holes to allow fastening therethrough to use screws in combination with the spikes to firmly engage the door slab. The leaves include a ratcheting retention system that engage at the edge of the door slab to allow installation onto door slabs having varying thicknesses while holding the front a back leaves together to form one unit that wraps and reinforces the door slab.

Claims

1. A hinge assembly, comprising: a first hinge leaf and a second hinge leaf; an arm extending from a rear edge of said first hinge leaf at approximately 90 degrees thereto, said arm having a top and bottom edge with first sawtooth projections extending from one of said top and bottom edges; a ratcheting assembly extending from a rear edge of said second hinge leaf at approximately 90 degrees thereto, said ratcheting assembly including a first ratchet pawl positioned therein, said ratcheting assembly receiving said arm therein, said first ratchet pawl engaging said first sawtooth projection on said arm; and a hinge barrel formed on one of said first and second hinge leaves to rotatably engage a conventional hinge leaf; wherein the first hinge leaf, the second hinge leaf, the arm, and the ratcheting assembly are configured to be wrapped around a butt edge of a door slab, the ratcheting assembly configured to accommodate varying thicknesses of the door slab.

2. The hinge assembly of claim 1, further comprising: at least one spring within said ratchet assembly to spring bias said first ratchet pawl into engagement with said arm.

3. The hinge assembly of claim 2, further comprising: one or more trim plates to enclose said ratchet assembly.

4. The hinge assembly of claim 1, further comprising: inwardly facing spikes positioned on an inner face of each of said first and second hinge leaves.

5. The hinge assembly of claim 1, further comprising: screw mounting holes through faces of said first and second hinge leaves.

6. The hinge assembly of claim 1, further comprising: said first sawtooth projections extending from said top edge of said arm; second sawtooth projections extending from said bottom edge of said arm; and said first ratchet pawl engaging said first sawtooth projections on said top edge of said arm and a second ratchet pawl engaging said sawtooth projections on said bottom edge of said arm.

7. The hinge assembly of claim 6, further comprising: springs within said ratchet assembly to spring bias said first and second ratchet pawls into engagement with said arm.

8. The hinge assembly of claim 7, further comprising: one or more trim plates to enclose said ratchet assembly.

9. The hinge assembly of claim 1, wherein said hinge assembly is formed using materials selected from the group consisting of: steel, iron, brass, aluminum, and combinations thereof.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present invention:

(2) FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the door hinge assembly of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a front, exploded perspective view of the door hinge assembly of the present invention; and

(4) FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of an alternate configuration of the door hinge assembly of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(5) Now referring to the drawings, a modular replacement door hinge is disclosed to facilitate the repair of a damaged door slab thereby reducing the need for replacement of door slabs that have been damaged or split in the hinge area.

(6) Turning now to FIG. 1 the replacement door hinge 10 can be seen to preferably include a jamb leaf 12 side that is essentially the same as a conventional door hinge to allow traditional mounting into the recess provided in the jamb for hinges. A barrel 13 is shown as the engagement point between the door slab portion of the hinge and the jamb portion of the hinge and receives a hinge pin therein to allow rotational operation of the two hinge portions and thereby swinging operation of the door slab 18 relative to the door jamb. It should be appreciated that while the barrel is shown in the drawings as being formed on one leaf 14, it can be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the barrel 13 could instead be formed on leaf 16 and still fall within the scope of the present invention.

(7) The slab side of the hinge 10 is formed by a pair of opposing hinge leaves 14, 16 that are received on opposing sides of the door slab 18 front and rear face. As will be described in detail below, the hinge 10 utilizes the two opposing hinge leaves 14, 16 in a securely adjustable manner to firmly engage with the door slab for a range of door slab 18 thicknesses. This allows the hinge 10 to be utilized for repair on a range of different door sizes and thicknesses to replace an original hinge where the door slab 18 has split or the mounting screw holes have been stripped or enlarged to a point where the traditional screws no longer serve to hold the original hinge and door slab 18 in firm connection.

(8) It can be appreciated that the door hinge 10 of the present invention may be formed from any material known in the art, including, but not limited to: steel, iron, brass, aluminum, and the like. Further, the door hinge 10 may be finished using any of the finishes known to provide a decorative appearance and such finishes are not considered limiting or as falling within the scope of this disclosure.

(9) Now viewing FIG. 2 in combination with FIG. 1, the door hinge 10 is seen to include two opposing leaves 14, 16 that cooperate to engage the door slab 18 therebetween. The opposing leaves 14, 16 may optionally include inwardly facing spikes 20 to firmly engage the door surface and may also optionally include at least one or more countersunk screw holes 22 to allow fastening therethrough. In this manner the opposing leaves 14, 16 may be affixed to the door slab 18 using the spikes 20, the screws 22 or a combination thereof to firmly engage the door slab.

(10) One of the leaves 16 has an arm 24 extending at approximately 90 degrees therefrom in a manner that provides for the arm to extend from the leaf 16 around the butt edge of the door slab 18. The arm 24 has a serrated sawtooth structure 26 on a top and bottom edge thereof. The other leaf 14 has a ratcheting retention system that will be described in more detail below that receives and engages with the serrated sawtooth structure 26 on the first leaf 16 to allow the two leaves 14, 16 to be installed onto door slabs having varying thicknesses while holding the front and back leaves together to form one unit that wraps and reinforces the door slab.

(11) The second leaf 14 is shown to include a ratcheting mechanism formed therein to receive and retain the arm 24 on the first leaf 16. The leaf 14 has guides 27 formed therein that serve to slidably receive and guide the inward and outward motion of at least one ratchet pawl 28. The ratchet pawl 28 also includes a complementary sawtooth structure 30 that is configured and arranged to engage with the corresponding sawtooth structure 26 on the arm 24. Further, the ratchet pawl 28 has fingers 32 that are slidably received into the guides 27 thereby allowing a smooth in and out motion of the ratchet pawl 28. Preferably there is at least one spring 34 positioned in at least one of the guides 27 that exerts spring pressure against the corresponding finger 32 to spring bias the ratchet pawl 28 into engagement with the sawtooth 26 on the arm 24 when the hinge is fully assembled. Corresponding stop shoulders 36, 38 are provided on at least one of the pawl 28 fingers 32 and in the guides 27 to engage with one another and prevent the ratchet pawl 28 from extending too far and falling out of position when the arm 24 is not positioned therein.

(12) It should be appreciated that the present invention illustrates a top and bottom ratchet pawl 28 in opposing relation to the arm 24. IT is within the scope of this invention to fashion the arm 24 to include only sawtooth features 26 on one side thereof and utilize a single ratchet pawl 28 rather than two as shown and illustrated.

(13) One or more trim plates 40 may be provided and fastened to the front and rear of the second leaf 14 adjacent the ratcheting mechanism. The trim plates may be provided to close the assembly and to retain all the pieces therein thereby preventing them from being dislodged and making the ratcheting assembly secure.

(14) As can be seen in FIG. 3, the alternately arranged door hinge 110 is seen to include two opposing leaves 114, 116 that cooperate to engage the door slab 18 therebetween. The opposing leaves 114, 116 preferably do not include inwardly facing spikes as described above but instead employ at least one or more countersunk screw holes 22 to allow fastening therethrough. In this manner the opposing leaves 114, 116 may be affixed to the door slab 18 using the screws 22 or a combination thereof to firmly engage the door slab.

(15) In operation, the hinge leaves 14, 16 are positioned to the front and rear faces of the door slab. This may be done while both leaves are fully separated or with arm 24 partially engaged into the ratcheting mechanism. When the hinge leaves are fully received onto the door, the hinge leaves are pressed fully together such that the spikes 20 engage the door and optionally screws are installed to hold the leaves 14, 16 in engagement with the slab. During this installation process the arm 24 is slidably inserted into the ratcheting mechanism and the ratchet pawl 28 engaged with the sawtooth features 26 on the arm such that the hinge leaves 14, 16 are fully engages with one another about the butt edge of the door slab. With the hinge installed onto the door slab, the door can be remounted by utilizing the conventional leaf 12 of the hinge to hang the door slab onto the jamb.

(16) The unique construction of the replacement door hinge of the present invention allows ease of installation despite the skill or knowledge of the user. Further, the replacement hinge provides a strong and reliable reinforcement that allows a damaged door slab to be salvaged rather than necessitating a repair. This arrangement provides reinforcing of the door slab as well as an installation that closely mirrors the existing hinge assembly allowing smooth operation and installation without the need for significant modification of the door slab and jamb as was required of typical repair systems in the prior art. Further, the present replacement door hinge fits within the existing margin provided between the slab and the door thereby eliminating the need for the removal of additional material to allow installation.

(17) It can therefore be seen that the present invention provides a hinge repair and reinforcing kit that can be quickly mounted to the damaged hinge area of a door thereby salvaging the door and limiting the instances where the door must be discarded. Further, the present disclosure provides a modular hinge repair kit that utilizes an adjustable bracket that is mounted directly to and wraps around a damaged door and includes a corresponding hinge mounting plate that allows the door slab to be securely reinstalled into the jamb opening. Still further, the present invention provides a secure hinge repair kit that is modular to facilitate ease of installation while also providing security yet still installs within the margin available between the door slab and jamb to eliminate the need for substantial modifications prior to installation.

(18) While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.