GB2313405A - Adjuster for a vent hinge - Google Patents

Abstract

In an adjuster 1 for adjusting the position of a hinge 3 of a vent, such as a door or a window, relative to a frame into which the vent requires fitting and comprising a body 5 for attachment to the frame and drive means for bearing against the hinge, in use, to move the hinge relative to the frame before fixing the hinge in position, the drive means comprises a rotatable cam 9 mounted such that rotation of the cam results in movement of the hinge. Preferably the axis of rotation of the cam is perpendicular to the drive direction of the adjuster.

Description

An Adjuster.

The present invention relates to an adjuster, in particular an adjuster for adjusting the position of a hinge for a vent such as a window or a door.

In most situations where a window or a door requires fitting or hanging to a frame in a wall, the process of fitting or hanging the window or door initially comprises attaching a hinge to the window or door, and then the complete window or door, together with the hinge, is offered to the frame such that it is correctly aligned with the frame and at the correct height. Once in this correct position, wedges are inserted around the periphery of the window or door to hold the window or door in the correct position whilst marks are made on the frame to permit the hinge to be fixed to the door in the correct position.

Once the marks are made on the frame, the window or door is removed and the frame is cut, drilled or rebated in accordance with the type of hinge being fitted. Once the frame has been prepared ready to accept the hinge, the window or door is once again offered to the frame, this time with the window or door in an open position to allow access to the mounting points of the hinge, typically being holes for screws. The hinge is then attached to the frame by the appropriate method and the window or door can be closed to check if the hinges have been fitted to the frame in the correct position. When attempting to close the window or door, the hinges are sometimes found to be slightly in the wrong position, this often being due to the lQad of the window or door acting on the hinges.

In order to correct the positions of the hinges, it becomes necessary to remove the window or door, 'alter the frame preparations to correct the error, and then reattach the 'N window or door. This removal and refitting-of the window or door is clearly illustrated above to be a laborious task.

To correct these hanging errors without the need for removing the window or door, longitudinal screw holes have been included in the hinges to allow relative movement of the hinges and the fixed frame before a final screw is applied through a round hole to hold the hinge in a chosen position. Such hinges have proved more practical in use, although they have still proved very difficult to adjust finely when very large (and hence heavy) windows or doors are involved.

To assist the fine adjustment of a hinge, adjusting means have been developed. One such adjusting means, shown in figures 1 and 2, comprises a bracket, with a threaded hole, the bracket attachable to a frame, a bolt arranged substantially vertically in the threaded hole, and a nut threaded onto the bolt. The hinge is adapted with a bottom piece which is located such that the piece rests on the nut.

By rotating the nut on the bolt, and/or with the bolt, with a spanner, the hinge can be raised or lowered as required utilising longitudinal screw holes in the hinge.

Adjustment means such as this have been found to be awkward to use due to the space required to enable a spanner to be operated effectively.

The present invention seeks to provide an easy to operate adjustment means which can be used to adjust finely the position of a hinge without the need to remove the window or door, or even the need to remove the weight of the window or door from the hinge.

According to the present invention there is provided an adjuster for adjusting the position of a hinge of a vent relative to a frame into which the vent requires fitting, the adjuster comprising a body for attachment to the frame and drive means for bearing against the hinge, in use, to move the hinge relative to the frame before the hinge is fixed in position, wherein the drive means comprises a cam mounted on the body such that rotation of the cam results in movement of the hinge.

Preferably the axis of rotation of the cam is perpendicular to the drive direction of the adjuster.

The cam preferably comprises a disc rotatably mounted on the body such that the periphery of the disc provides the cam action. The disc may be oval or circular and rotatably mounted about an off-centre axis.

In a preferred embodiment, the drive means includes a block slidably received by the body, the block being driven by the cam, during use, to move the hinge. The block may be shaped to be received in an end of a hinge.

To attach the adjuster to the frame, the body may include at least one fixing hole for screwing or nailing, and/or a stub for engaging a recess or hole in the frame, and/or one or more pins.

The adjuster is preferably manufactured substantially of metallic material.

The adjuster can be used to adjust the hinge substantially vertically, substantially horizontally, or at any direction.

The cam preferably includes an engagement point for attaching a torque applying means to enable the cam to be rotated even when under load from a vent.

In a further embodiment the adjuster is part of a hinge, such as a friction stay for a window.

By using an adjuster according to the present invention, a window or door can be fitted to the frame once, and then adjusted without the need for someone to hold the window or door, or wedges to support the weight of the window or door, whilst the position of the hinges are adjusted into the correct positions.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front view of a prior art adjusting means.

Figure 2 is a side view of a prior art adjusting means.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of an adjuster according to the present invention in a first adjustment position.

Figure 4 is a side view of the adjuster of figure 3.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the adjuster of figure 3 in a second adjustment position.

Figure 6 is a section AA of the adjuster of figure 5.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the adjuster of figure 3 shown engaging the support track of a friction stay.

Referring to figures 3 and 4 there is shown an adjuster 1 for altering the vertical height of a window hinge or friction stay fixed to a frame. The adjuster 1 comprises a body 5, a block 7 slidably mounted on the body 5, and a cam 9 rotatably attached to the body 5. The block 7 functions to provide a connection between the cam and the hinge, as shown in figure 7.

Referring to figure 6, the cam 9 is attached to the body 5 by means of a pin 11. The pin 11 shown is part of the cam 9. However, the pin 11 could be a separate piece fixed to the cam 9, or alternatively the pin 11 could be a part of the body 5, with the cam 9 being rotatably mounted on the pin 11. In the embodiment of figure 6, the pin passes through a hole 13 in the body 5 and is prevented from being pulled out again by a fixing means comprising an expanded end 15 of the pin 11, for example, which is larger than the hole 13 through which the pin 11 is inserted.

The body 5 is fixedly attached to the frame by an engaging means. In the embodiment of figure 4, the engagement means comprises a lug 17. This lug 17 is engageable with a hole drilled into the frame. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the lug 17 could be replaced with a hole through which a screw could be inserted for screwing the body 5 to the frame. A further embodiment could have more than one lug, or even more than one hole. Yet a further embodiment could comprise one or more long pins to replace the lug 17 wherein the pins act as nails and the body 5 requires hammering onto the frame in a nail-like fashion.

The block 7 is slidably attached to the body 5 by means of a longitudinal slot through which the pin 11 is passed prior to passing through the hole 13. The body 5 further comprises two flat faces and the block 7 two inside faces.

In use, the flat faces and the inside faces act as rails to enable the body 5 and the block 7 to slide over each other in linear fashion. The body 5 also has a first stop 41 and the block 7 has a second stop 43. These stops 41 and 43 are provided to prevent the body 5 and the block 7 sliding over each other too far. To prevent the block sliding too far, the two stops 41, 43 will meet thus preventing further sliding of the block 7 over the body 5.

The block 7 has a contact face 21 and a distal end 23. The contact face 21 is flat, and is contactable by a part of an edge 25 of the cam 9. The distal end 23 is engageable with a bottom end of the hinge 3, as shown in figure 7. The block 7 further comprises a locating slot 27, positioned to correspond with a hinge adjustment slot 29 in the hinge 3 when the distal end 23 is engaged with the hinge 3. A screw, or similar fixing means, can be inserted through the locating slot 27 and the hinge adjustment slot 29 to be used to fix the hinge 3 in position, by tightening the screw, once any required adjustment to the height of the hinge has been made by the adjuster 1. The slots 27, 29 permit the movement of the hinge 3 when the adjuster 1 is operated whilst still enabling an untightened screw to hold the hinge onto the frame.

In the embodiment of figure 3, the cam 9 comprises a disc and the pin 11. The pin 11 extends away from the disc in a direction of the off-centre axis 19 of the disc. This enables the disc of the cam 9 to act like a cam. The cam 9 is required to be rotated in order to perform the intended adjustment of the height of the hinge 3. In order to rotate the disc, an engagement point 33 is provided on the outer face 35 of the disc. A torque applying means such as an allen key 37, as shown in figure 7, is inserted into the engagement point 33, and the disc can then be rotated by applying torque. The engagement point 33 need not be in the form of a hole suitable for an allen key 37, but instead could be in the form of a slot for a screw driver, for example.

The initial orientation of the disc is shown in figure 3.

The part of the edge 25 of the disc is shown to be in contact with the contact face 21 of the block 7. At this orientation the cam is at its minimum height against the contact face 21. Therefore the hinge 3 is also at its lowest height. The gap 39 between the first stop 41 and the second stop 43, as shown in figure 4, is at a minimum. Upon 1800 rotation of the disc, the orientation of the disc becomes as shown in figure 5. At this orientation the cam is at its maximum height against the contact face 21. The gap 39 between the first stop 41 and the second stop 43 has reached its maximum as shown in figure 6. The change of size of the gap 39 correlates exactly to the adjustment to the height of the hinge 3, since the body 5 is fixed to the frame and the block 7 is attached to the hinge 3.

The magnitude of the displacement of the pin 11 away from the central axis of the disc determines the amount of adjustment available to the hinge position, which in practice is likely to be up to about 5mm The adjuster could similarly be used to alter the horizontal position of the hinge 3 by altering the orientation of the contact face 21 to a vertical face situated to the left or right hand side of the disc.

It will of course be understood that the present invention has been described purely by way of example, and modifications in detail can be made within the scope of the invention.

Claims (13)

CLAIMS:

1. An adjuster for adjusting the position of a hinge of a vent relative to a frame into which the vent requires fitting, the adjuster comprising a body for attachment to the frame and drive means for bearing against the hinge, in use, to move the hinge relative to the frame before the hinge is fixed in position, wherein the drive means comprises a cam mounted on the body such that rotation of the cam results in movement of the hinge.

2. An adjuster as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the axis of rotation of the cam is perpendicular to the drive direction of the adjuster.

3. An adjuster as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the cam comprises a disc rotatably mounted on the body such that the periphery of the disc provides the cam action,

4. An adjuster as claimed in claim 3, wherein the disc is oval or circular and rotatably mounted about an off-centre axis.

5. An adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the drive means includes a block slidably received by the body, the block being driven by the cam, during use, to move the hinge.

6. An adjuster as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the block is shaped to be received in an end of a hinge.

7. An adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body includes at least one fixing hole to enable the adjuster to be attached to a frame.

8. An adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the body includes a stub or pin for engaging a recess or hole in a frame to retain the adjuster in position on the frame, during use.

9. An adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the body or drive means or both are manufactured substantially of metallic material.

10. An adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the cam has an engagement point for attaching a torque applying means to enable the cam to be rotated even when under load from a vent.

11. An adjuster substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in figures 3 to 7 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A combination of a hinge and an adjuster as claimed in any preceding claim.

13. A combination of a hinge and an adjuster as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the hinge is a friction stay for a window.