Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: MOLDED PLASTIC ACCESS DOOR
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to access doors utilized to cover
openings in
walls or ceilings to permit access to services within a wall or ceiling
cavity. In
particular, the present invention is directed to a molded plastic access door
which
allows access to the full dimension of the opening.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In residential and commercial construction, services such as water
supply,
drain waste vent (DWV), natural gas and electrical service are generally run
within a
wall or ceiling cavity. The wall or ceiling cavity is covered with a finish
material
such as a gypsum board to provide a finished appearance to the space. In many
circumstances, it is required that access to valves, drains and connectors
utilizing
these services is maintained. In these situations, an opening is cut in the
covering
material of a size to permit access to the valve, drain or other connection.
This
opening is then covered by an access panel or access door which maintains the
finished surface appearance while permitting access to the wall or ceiling
cavity
behind the panel or door.
[0003] There are presently available access panels of a molded plastic
material where
the access panel is provided with a spring clip on the back surface. The
spring clip
engages the interior surface of the wall cover material and sandwiches the
covering
material between the access panel and the spring clip. While such access
panels are
easy to install, they do not provide for a secure installation in that it is
not possible to
lock the panel to control access to the cavity opening. Also, the spring clip
tends to
loosen from the access panel with repeated use such that the average useful
life of
such panels is about 2 to 3 years.
[0004] Access doors constructed of metal or plastic are also known. The access
doors
constructed of metal are generally provided with an exterior frame having an L-
shaped cross section with one leg of the L forming the exterior surface to
overly the
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wall or ceiling covering material. The other leg of the L is provided with
holes to
allow for fastening of the access door to the opening in the wall or ceiling.
Owing to
the weight of the metal panels, it is generally necessary to provide for
support such as
wood strapping attached to the interior surface of the wall or ceiling
covering material
if the opening does not line up with an existing stud or joist in the wall or
ceiling
cavity. The metal door is generally provided with a hinge along one edge which
is
attached to one side of the frame, the door also having a locking means on the
opposite side from the hinge to allow it to be closed and locked to the frame.
The
access door fits within the frame but is not airtight or soundproof.
[0005] Recently, plastic access doors have also been developed. These plastic
access
doors have an L-shaped frame similar to the metal access doors and the door
itself is
hinged in the opening by hinge pins which are placed interior of the edge of
the door.
While the plastic access door has a lower weight than the traditional metal
access
doors, it does suffer from certain disadvantages. Owing to the design of the
door,
similar to the metal access doors, the plastic access door is not airtight or
soundproof.
In addition, due to the placement of the hinges, the access door in the open
position
blocks off access to a significant portion of the opening and does not provide
access
to the full width of the opening. The access door must also be installed
similar to the
metal access doors by attaching to strapping placed on the interior surface of
the
covering material.
[0006] There thus remains a need for a light weight plastic access door which
overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art designs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention is directed to a molded access door assembly for
an
access opening in a wall or ceiling. The molded access door assembly comprises
a
molded frame and a molded door hingedly connected to the frame. The frame
comprises a frame channel to form the outside of the access door assembly, the
frame
channel having spaced apart exterior and interior walls joined at the top edge
by a top
wall. The opening in the channel is orientated toward the wall or ceiling. The
frame
channel has a lip extending from the bottom edge of the inner wall into the
interior of
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the opening in a wall or ceiling, the lip providing a stop rest for the door
in the closed
position and being provided with a means of attaching the access door assembly
to the
wall or ceiling. The door has a top surface and a first part of a hinge
assembly along
one edge of the top surface which cooperates with a matching second part of
the hinge
assembly along one edge of the frame channel to allow the door to move between
an
open and a closed position.
[0008] In an aspect of the invention, the door assembly includes a means for
releasably securing the door to the frame in the closed position.
[0009] In another aspect of the invention, the means for releasably securing
the door
to the frame comprises a rotatable latch which engages a latch receiving
detent
provided on the lip of the frame.
[0010] In yet another aspect of the invention, the latch receiving detent is
raised above
the lip to provide a space between the bottom of the detent and a wall or
ceilingcovering to receive the rotatable latch.
[0011] In a further aspect of the invention, the tab includes a raised tab
which engages
a recess provided in the underside of the latch receiving detent.
[0012] In yet another aspect of the invention, the first part of the hinge
assembly has a
generally circular hinge member with hinge pins protruding from both ends of
the
generally circular hinge member.
[0013] In a further aspect of the invention, the matching second part of the
hinge
assembly includes a cutout in the frame channel of the frame sized to accept
the
generally circular hinge member of the door.
[0014] In another aspect of the invention, the door has a top surface and an
wall
extending downwardly from the top surface around the edge of the top surface,
the
height of the wall being about equal to the height of the inside wall of the
frame above
the lip.
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[0015] In yet another aspect of the invention, resilient sealing material is
provided on
a lower edge of the wall extending downwardly from the top surface of the door
or the
lip to provide for airtight or soundproof sealing between the lower edge of
the wall
extending downwardly from the top surface of the door and the lip.
[0016] In a further aspect of the invention, the access door assembly is
molded from
any suitable thermosetting or thermoplastic material such as
polyvinylchloride,
polystyrene, polyam ides, or ABS.
[0017] In another aspect of the invention, the access door assembly is molded
from an
ABS material which can be colored to a suitable color to match the desired
decor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] Preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the
attached
drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the plastic access
door
assembly of the present invention attached to a wall opening;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the access door assembly of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a front view of the access door assembly of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a back view of the access door assembly of Figure 1;
Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the components of the access door
assembly of Figure 1;
Figure 6 is a close-up view of the hinge assembly of the access door assembly
of
Figure 1; and
Figure 7 is a view in cross-section of the hinge assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] A first preferred embodiment of an access door assembly of the present
invention is illustrated in the attached drawings, generally indicated by the
numeral
10. Access door assembly 10 is for attachment to a wall or ceiling surface to
cover an
opening 12 provided in a wall or ceiling covering material 14 to allow access
to
services provided within the cavity of the wall or ceiling behind the wall or
ceiling
covering 14.
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[0020] As illustrated in the figures, the access door assembly 10 comprises a
frame
assembly 20 to which is hingedly attached a door 22 as will be described
further
below. The frame assembly 20 comprises a frame channel 24 having an outside
wall
26, an inside wall 28 and a top wall 30. The frame channel 24 is orientated
such that
the open bottom between the outside wall 26 and inside wall 28 is orientated
towards
the wall or ceiling covering material 14 when the access door assembly 10 is
installed.
The provision of the frame channel 24 increases the rigidity of the frame
assembly 20
and in turn the entire access door assembly 10 without an increase in weight
or cost.
[0021] A lip 32 is provided attached to the lower edge of the inside wall 28,
the lip 32
extending into the opening in the interior of the frame assembly 20. As will
be
described further below, one function of the lip 32 is provide for a stop and
rest for
the door 22 when the access door assembly 10 is in the closed position.
[0022] In addition, the lip 32 is provided with a means for attaching the
access door
assembly 10 to the wall or ceiling covering material 14. One such means
illustrated in
the drawings is the provision of holes 34 which accept suitable screws 36 for
attaching the access door assembly 10 to the wall or ceiling covering 14.
Preferably
the holes 34 are countersunk to allow the use of countersunk screws 36 such
that
when the screws 36 are installed, the heads of the screws 36 lie flush with
the surface
of the lip 32 and do not interfere with the closing of the door 22. By
providing the
means for attaching the access door assembly 10 to the wall or covering
material 14
on the surface of the lip 32, it is not necessary that strapping be provided
in the
interior of the cavity. Rather for gypsum board covering, a hole could be
drilled
through the covering to match up with the holes 34 in the lip 32 and a
suitable wall
anchor which grips and holds the screw 36 is placed within the hole. This
arrangement results in a faster and easier installation of the access door
assembly of
the present invention as compared to the prior art arrangements.
[0023] The door 22 also includes a means for releasably securing the door 22
in the
closed position. In the embodiments illustrated in the figures, the means for
releasably securing the door 22 is a rotatable latch 38 which engages a latch
receiving
detent 40 provided on the lip 32 of the frame assembly 20. As illustrated in
the
drawings, in order to enable the flush mount of the frame assembly 20 to the
wall or
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ceiling covering material 14, the latch receiving detent 40 is preferably
provided as a
raised detent 40 which provides a space between the bottom of the detent 40
and the
wall or ceiling covering material 14 to receive the rotatable latch 38.
[0024] The rotatable latch 38 has a rotatable post 42 which is rotatable by
turning a
knob or key access 44 at the top of the rotatable post provided on the
exterior surface
of the door 22. A tab 46 is attached to the bottom of the rotatable post 42
such that
the tab 46 rotates with the rotatable post 42 and engages the underside of the
latch
receiving detent 40 to releasably secure the door 22 in the closed position.
In order to
provide a more secure engagement of the tab 46 and the latch receiving detent
40, the
tab 46 may be provided with a raised ridge 48 which engages with a recess 49
provided in the underside of the latch receiving detent 40. As the tab 46 on
the
rotatable post 42 is rotated to the closed position, the raised ridge 48 rides
over the
underside surface of the latch receiving indent 40 until it drops into the
recess 49 and
helps to hold the door 22 in the closed position. To open the door 22, the
knob or key
access 44 is rotated to the open position which rotates the attached rotatable
post 42
and tab 46 until the raised ridge 48 on the tab 46 disengages from recess 49
of the
latch receiving detent 40 and allows the door 22 to be opened.
[0025] A preferred embodiment of the hinge connection between the frame
assembly
20 and door 22 is illustrated in detail in figures 5 to 7. Door 22 is provided
along one
edge with a first part of a hinge assembly 50 along one edge and the frame
assembly
20 is provided with the matching second part of the hinge assembly 52 along
one
edge. In the embodiment illustrated, the first part of the hinge assembly 50
has a
generally circular hinge member 54 with hinge pins 56 protruding from both
ends of
the generally circular hinge member 54. The matching second part of the hinge
assembly 52 include a cutout 58 in the frame channel 24 of the frame assembly
20
sized to accept the generally circular hinge member 54 of the door 22. Hinge
pin
receiving holes 60 are provided in each end of the cutout 58 to receive the
hinge pins
56 of the first part of the hinge assembly 50. The hinge pins 56 in the hinge
pin
receiving holes 60 securly hold the door 22 to the frame assembly 20 and allow
it to
rotate from the open to the closed position. The provision of the first and
second parts
of the hinge assembly 50 and 52 on the edges of the door 22 and frame assembly
20
respectively allow the door to 22 to fully open and provide access to the full
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dimensions of the opening formed by the interior edges of the lip 32. This
allows for
a smaller dimensioned door assembly for an equivalent opening compared to the
prior
art plastic access doors.
[0026] As illustrated in the figures, the door 22 has a top surface 62 and an
wall 64
extending downwardly from the top surface around the edge of the top surface
62.
The height of the wall 64 is about equal to the height of the inside wall 28
of the
frame channel 24 above the lip 32. In this way, when the access door assembly
10 is
in the closed position, the lower edge 66 of the wall 64 of the door 22 rests
against the
lip 32 and provides a flush, finished appearance to the access door assembly
10.
[0027] The provision of the lower edge 66 of the wall 64 of the door 22
resting
against the lip 32 of the frame assembly 10 also allows the access door
assembly 10 of
the present invention to be made airtight or soundproof. If desired, resilient
sealing
material such as a rubber strip could be provided on either the lower edge 66
or the lip
32 to provide for airtight or soundproof sealing between the lower edge 66 and
the lip
32.
[0028] It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the height of
the walls 64
and 28 can be varied to give a higher or lower profile to the access door
assembly 10
as desired. Preferably, the height of the walls 28 and 64 is selected to allow
the
access door assembly 10 to match DECORATM electrical outlets and switch plates
to
allow the access door assembly 10 to appear as another such plate. In
addition, the
access door assembly 10 of the present invention may be provided in a number
of
different sizes, depending upon the application. For example, for shut off
valves and
connectors for services such as natural gas, a 6 inch by 6 inch panel is
commonly
used, while for clean out fittings for DWV and shut off valves for the main
water
supply, sizes up to 12 inches by 12 inches or larger may be used. The access
door of
the present invention is easily adapted to such a variety of sizes.
[0029] The access door assembly of the present invention is molded from any
suitable
thermosetting or thermoplastic material such as polyvinylchloride,
polystyrene,
polyamides, or ABS. Preferably, the access door assembly of the present
invention is
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molded from an ABS material which can be colored to a suitable color to match
the
desired decor.
[0030] The access door assembly of the present invention provides numerous
advantages over the previously available access door assemblies. It is of less
weight
and cost compared to the prior metal door assemblies. In addition, it is
easier to
install, not requiring additional strapping around the wall opening to support
the
access door assembly. When compared to the prior plastic door assemblies, the
access door assembly of the present invention provides for a larger opening
access
and is easier to install. In addition, the life expectancy is significantly
increased.
[0031] Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have
been
described herein in detail, it will be appreciated by those of skill in the
art that
variations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the
appended
claims.
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