GB2470058A

GB2470058A - Loft door access assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2470058A
Application number: GB0907895A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Cameron Challinor
Original assignee: Manthorpe Building Products Ltd
Current assignee: Manthorpe Building Products Ltd
Priority date: 2009-05-08
Filing date: 2009-05-08
Publication date: 2010-11-10
Anticipated expiration: 2029-05-08
Also published as: GB2470058B; GB0907895D0

Abstract

The door assembly 10 comprises a frame 12 defining an opening, a door 20 and a hinge 22. A pivot axis 48 of the hinge is spaced from the opening. The pivot axis may be laterally spaced from the opening by flanges 18 that extend from the opening. The door assembly may include a door seal between the door and the frame that extends continuously around the opening, a structure seal 28 that is aligned with the door seal for sealing between the door assembly and a structure in which the door assembly is installed, and a catch located outside the door seal away from the opening. The door may be insulated 26. The door assembly is not limited to use with lofts or attics and may be used for other access such as to a cellar or basement.

Description

Loft Door Access Assembly The present invention relates to a loft door access assembly, particularly but not exclusively a loft door access assembly for access to a loft or attic.

Conventionally, loft door access assemblies include a frame defining an opening and a door which is hingedly mounted to the frame, having a hinge pivot axis which is adjacent to the opening. Increasing regulatory requirements particularly in the field of energy efficiency have focused attention onto particular areas, such as insulation and draft exclusion. Loft door access assemblies, in common with other openings in the structure of a building, are an area of particular concern in both of these respects, firstly, because the insulation barrier between the habited warm part of a building and the uninhabited cold part of a building must be broken, and secondly, because conventional assemblies are difficult to seal effectively. Typically, the provision of seal arrangements reduces the available open area of the opening which is already necessarily restricted by the structure of the building, and may also increase the size of the break in the insulation layer.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a loft door access assembly for access to a loft or attic, the assembly including a frame defining an opening, a door, a hinge mounting for mounting the door to the frame, the hinge mounting including a hinge pivot axis around which the door pivots, the pivot axis being spaced from the opening.

Possibly, the pivot axis is substantially laterally spaced from the opening.

Possibly, the frame includes side walls which define the opening, and may include one or more flange parts which extend laterally outwardly from the side walls away from the opening. Possibly, the one or more of the flange parts space the pivot axis from the opening.

Possibly, the door is movable between an open position and a closed position.

Possibly, the assembly includes a door seal between the door and the frame. Possibly, the door seal is not located within the opening. Possibly, the door seal extends continuously around the opening, and may extend around and outside of the opening. Possibly, the hinge mounting is located outside of the door seal away from the opening.

Possibly, the assembly includes a catch to Jock the door in the closed position. Possibly, the catch is spaced from the opening, and may be located to correspond with the or one of the flange parts. Possibly, the catch is located outside of the door seal away from the opening.

Possibly, the door is removably engageable with the hinge mounting, and may be arranged to be engageable and disengageable at a predetermined orientation. Possibly, in the predetermined orientation, the door subtends an angle of between 15 and 25° to the frame, and may subtend an angle of approximately 20°.

Possibly, the assembly includes a structure seal for sealing between the assembly and a building structure in which the assembly is to be installed.

Possibly, the building structure defines an opening, and possibly the structure seal is not located within the structure opening. Possibly, the structure seal extends continuously around the structure opening, and may extend around and outside of the structure opening. Possibly, the structure seal substantially corresponds in position with the door seal, and may seal between the one or the flange parts and the structure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing access to a loft or athc, the method including the step of providing a loft door access assembly, the assembly including a frame defining an opening, a door, a hinge mounting for mounting the door to the frame, the hinge mounting including a hinge pivot axis around which the door pivots, the pivot axis being spaced from the opening.

Possibly, the method includes any of the steps described in the preceding paragraphs. Possibly, the loft door access assembly is as described in any of the preceding paragraphs.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Fig. 1 is a perspective view from a side and below of a loft door access assembly in a closed condition; Fig. 2 is a perspective view from a side and above of the assembly shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view from a side and above of the assembly shown in Fig. 2 in an open condition; Fig. 4 is a perspective view from a side and below of the assembly in an open condition; Fig. 5 is a side view of the assembly in an open condition; Fig. 6 is a sectional side view of the assembly in the closed condition, taken along the section line indicated by the arrows VI -VI in Fig 1; Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view of part of the assembly shown in Fig. 6 denoted by the numeral VII; Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view of part of the assembly shown in Fig. 6 denoted by numeral VIII; Fig. 9 is a view of a frame from above; Fig. 10 is a side sectional view of the frame shown in Fig. 9 along the section line indicated by arrows X -X; Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of part of the assembly shown in Fig. 10 denoted by the numeral XI; Fig. 12 is an enlarged detail of part of the assembly shown in Fig. 10 denoted by the numeral XII; and Fig. 13 is a view of part of a door from above.

Referring to the figures, a loft door access assembly 10 includes a frame 12 defining an opening 16, and a door 20. The frame 12 includes a hinge mounting 22 for mounting the door 20 to the frame 12. The hinge mounting 22 includes a hinge pivot axis 48 around which the door 20 pivots, the pivot axis 48 being spaced from the opening 16.

In the specification, the relative positional terms up, down, above and below, inside and outside are used with reference to the orientation of the assembly 10 in use, as shown in the drawings.

The frame 12 includes side walls 14 which define the opening 16 and flange parts 18 which extend laterally outwardly from a lower part of the side walls 14 away from the opening 16. The side walls 14 extend continuously around the opening 16, and the flange parts 18 extend continuously around the side walls 14. Each of the flange parts 18 includes a substantially planar part 64 and an edge bead 50 which extends downwardly from the planar part 64 to define a recess 60 therebetween in which the door 20 is receivable in a closed condition.

The edge bead 50 is hollow defining a bead cavity 54. On one side, the edge bead 50 is interrupted to define gaps 62.

Fig. 11 shows a cross section through the frame 12 through one of the gaps 62 on a hinge side 70 of the frame 12. In this drawing, features which have been cut through are shown with hatched lines. Adjacent to each of the gaps 62, the frame 12 includes a sloping guide surface 46, a mouth 58 being defined between the sloping guide surface 46 and the edge bead 50 in the vicinity of each gap 62. An angle 66 subtended between the guide surface 46 and the planar part 64 could be between 15 and 25°, and in one example is approximately 20°.

The assembly 10 includes locking means in the form of a catch 24 to lock the door 20 in the closed condition. Referring to Fig. 9, the frame 12 includes a catch side 72 which is the side opposite to the hinge side 70. An enlarged detail of the catch side is shown in Fig. 12. Referring to Fig. 12, the edge bead 50 defines an aperture in the form of a slot 34 which is located at approximately the mid point of the catch side 72, and a pair of opposed apertures 36 which are located on each of the sides adjacent to the catch side 72.

As shown in Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8, the assembly 12 could include a structure seal 28 which is located on an upper side of the planar part 64 of the flange parts 18 just outboard of the side walls 14, the structure seal 28 being formed, for example, of a resiliently deformable material such as rubber, a thermo plastic elastomer (TPE), or EPDM.

As shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the assembly 10 includes a downwardly extending door seal 76 extending from the lower surface of the planar part 64 of the flange parts 18 just outboard of the side walls 14 of the frame 12. The door seal 76 could be formed, for example, of a resiliently deformable material such as rubber, or TPE, or EPOM. The seal 76 extends continuously around the opening 16. The downwardly extending door seal 76 substantially corresponds in a vertical position with the upwardly extending structure seal 28.

The structure seal 28 and/or the door seal 76 could be integrally formed with the frame 12. In one example the frame 12 and seals 28, 76 could be integrally formed by a two shot moulding process.

The door 20 includes a substantially planar central part 80 and a flange part 82 extending outwardly from the central part 80 and continuously around the central part 80, an upwardly projecting continuous wall 40 extending from an outer region of the central part 80. As shown in the figures, the assembly could include insulation 26 which is located on the central part 80 within the wall 40. The wall 40 serves to contain the insulation 26, reducing the risk of damage to the insulation 26 during movement of the door 20.

Fig. 7 shows a cross section through a part of the assembly 10 at the hinge side 70 of the frame 12 through one of the hinge mountings 22. Each door flange part 82 includes a substantially planar part 84, an inner wall 74 extending upwardly from an upper surface of the flange planar part 84 and an outer wall 78 extending upwardly from an outermost region of the door flange planar part 84. The inner'waU 74 extends continuously around and is spaced outwardly from the wall 40. The outer wall 78 forms, for the most part, the outermost periphery of the door 20. However, at positions which correspond with the gaps 62 defined by the frame 12, hinge projections 52 extend outwardly from the outer wall 78, the hinge projections 52 having a correspondingly similar lower surface profile to the edge bead 50 of the frame 12.

Referring to Fig. 13, each of the hinge projections 52 includes a relatively short stub axle projection 56 extending oppositely from each end, parallel with and spaced from the outer wall 78.

Fig. 7 shows the assembly 10 in an assembled condition and in the closed condition. In the assembled condition, the stub axle projections 56 locate with in the bead cavity 54 of the frame 12.

Fig. 8 shows a section through part of the assembly 10 at the catch side 72 of the frame 12, showing a section through the catch 24 of the door 20. The catch 24 includes a catch member 86 which is rotatabty mounted to the flange part 82 of the door 20, the catch member 86 including a laterally extending locking part 32 and a downwardly extending actuator part 38. The catch 24 further includes a pair of laterally extending sliding locking members 30, which can be seen in Fig. 4, which are linked to the catch member 86, so that as the catch member 86 is rotated in first and opposite second directions, the sliding locking members 30 respectively extend and retract laterally.

In use, the frame 20 is installed within an opening 92 defined by a building structure 88, shown nominally in dotted lines in Fig 7. In an installed condition, the side walls 14 of the frame 12 extend upwardly into the opening 92, and the flange parts 18 of the frame 12 locate against the structure 88 surrounding the opening, which could, for example be a ceiling, In the installed condition, the upwardly extending structure seal 28 is compressed against the structure 88 to form a seal between the frame 12 and the structure 88.

The frame 12 could include fixing holes 90 (only a few of which are labelled in Fig. 9) which are defined by the substantially planar flange 64 of the frame 12 to permit fasteners such as nails or screws to be located through the fixing holes 90 into the building structure 88. The fixing holes 90 are located outboard of the seals 28, 76.

During installation it is easier if the door 20 is initially separate from the frame 12. The door 20 is mounted to the frame 12 as follows. The hinge projections 52 of the door 20 are positioned inwardly and slightly downwardly from the mouth 58 of the frame 12, and the door 20 is orientated at a slope, forming an angle with the frame 12 that approximately matches the angle 66 of the guide surface 46. In this orientation, the stub axle projections 56 of the door 20 can be inserted through the mouths 58 and located within the bead cavity 54 so that the stub axle projections 56 are supported by the edge bead on either side of the gaps 62. In the assembled condition, the longitudinal axis of the stub axle projections 56 substantially forms the pivot axis 48.

Hence,, in the assembled condition, the pivot axis 48 is substantially laterally spaced from the opening 16. The door 20 can easily be removed from the frame 12 by reversal of these steps.

The door 20 is thus removably engageable with the hinge mounting 22, at a predetermined orientation, in which the door 20 subtends an angle of between 15 and 25° to the frame 12, and optimally subtends an angle of approximately 20° to the frame 12.

With the stub axle projections 56 supported by the edge bead 50, the door 20 can be pivoted around the pivot axis 48 between an open condition in which the opening 16 is fully accessible, and the closed condition.

To reach the closed condition, the door 20 is moved until the catch member 86 abuts substantially against the planar part 64 of the flange part 18. The actuator part 38 is then rotated by a user, either by the user grasping the actuator part 30, or by means of a suitable tool (not shown). As the catch member 86 is rotated, the locking part 32 of the catch member 86 is received within the locking slot 34 defined by the edge beam 50, and the laterally sliding locking members 30 extend into and are received by the locking slots 36.

In the closed condition, the downwardly extending door seal 76 is deformed by the inner wall 74 of the door 20 to form a seal therewith.

The invention provides a number of advantages. Advantageously, both the catch 24 and the hinge mounting 22 are not located in the opening 16 but are spaced away from the opening 16, with the door seal 76 and the structure seal 28 between both the catch 24 and the hinge mounting 22, and the opening 16, so that the catch 24 and the hinge mounting 22 are located wholly on the warm building side of the seals 28, 76. In contrast to conventional arrangements, the catch 24 does not extend between the warm part of the building and the cold part of the building, thus requiring a separate sealing arrangement. Thus, the possibility of heat Joss or draughts through the catch 24 and the hinge mounting 22 is eliminated.

Also advantageously, the door seal 76 and the structure seal 28 are not located in the frame opening 16 or in the building opening 92 respectively, which permits a close fit to be obtained between the structure 88, the frame side walls 14 of the frame 12 and the door walls 40. This in turn permits the available open area of the opening 16 to be maximised, and permits a reduction in the gaps between the building structure 88 and the insulation 26 of the door 20, thus reducing heat loss.

The spacing of the hinge mounting 22 from the opening 16 also provides the advantage that as the door 20 opens, it swings the insulation 16 out and away from the opening 16, giving a larger available open area.

Furthermore, the location of the seals 28, 76 and the hinge mounting 22 means that the seals are deformed primarily in compression rather than shear, reducing the possibility of wear and damage.

The frame 12 could be formed integrally of a plastics material, and could be formed by injection moulding, or by any other suitable process. The door 20 could similarly be formed of a plastics material, and could be formed by, for example, injection moulding, or by any other suitable process., Various other modifications could be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The assembly could be formed of any suitable material or materials, by any suitable process, and could be of any suitable size and shape. The assembly could be utilised in any suitable location.

There is thus provided a loft door access assembly in which the door is removably mounted to the frame, and is arranged so that the catch and seal arrangements permit a reduction in draughts, a simplification of sealing arrangements and an increase in the open area of the opening. The assembly can be relatively easily manufactured and assembled, and can be installed by relatively unskilled operators.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

IClaims 1. A loft door access assembly for access to a loft or attic, the assembly including a frame defining an opening, a door, a hinge mounting for mounting the door to the frame, the hinge mounting including a hinge pivot axis around which the door pivots, the pivot axis being spaced from the opening.
2. A loft door access assembly according to claim 1, wherein the pivot axis is laterally spaced from the opening.
3. A loft door access assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the frame includes side walls which define the opening, and wherein the frame includes one or more flange parts which extend laterally outwardly from the side walls away from the opening.
4. A loft door access assembly according to claim 3, wherein one or more of the flange parts space the pivot axis from the opening.
5. A loft door access assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the assembly includes a door seal between the door and the frame, wherein the door seal is not located within the opening.
6. A loft door access assembly according to claim 5, wherein the door seal extends continuously around the opening.
7. A loft door access assembly according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the hinge mounting is located outside of the door seal away from the opening.
8. A loft door access assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the assembly includes a catch to lock the door in a closed position.
9. A loft door access assembly according to claim 8 as dependent on any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the catch is located outside of the door seal away from the opening.
10. A loft door access assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the door is removably engageable with the hinge mounting.
11. A loft door access assembly according to claim 10, wherein the door is arranged to be engageable and disengageable at a predetermined orientation.
12. A loft door access assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the door comprises a layer of insulation.
13. A loft door access assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the assembly includes a structure seal for sealing between the assembly and a building structure in which the assembly is to be installed.
14. A loft door access assembly according to claim 13, wherein the building structure defines an opening, and wherein the structure seal is not located within the structure opening.
15. A loft door access assembly according to claim 14, wherein the structure seal extends continuously around the structure opening.
16. A loft door access assembly according to any one of claims 13 to 15 as dependent on claim 5 or a claim dependent thereon, wherein the structure seal substantially corresponds in position with the door seal.
17. A loft door access assembly substantially as described herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings.
18. A building structure comprising a loft door access assembly as claimed in any preceding claim.
19. A method of providing access to a loft or attic, the method including the step of providing a loft door access assembly in accordance with any one of claims ito 17.
20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of installing the loft door access assembly in an opening in a building structure comprising the loft or attic.
21. A method substantially as described herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings.