Pre-hung Door Shipping Bracket and Plug System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pre-hung doors lack rigidity during shipping, handling, and installation, leading to misalignment and reduced seal quality between the door panel and frame, which is dependent on installer skill and practices.
Innovation Solution
A shipping system comprising a bracket that wraps around the frame with a leg extending between the door panel and frame, and a door plug that engages with the bracket to hold the door panel closed, improving rigidity and allowing for easy installation and post-installation removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pre-hung doors are pre-assembled to provide a tight fitting seal, then seal quality is improved, but rigidity deteriorates causing bending, bowing, twisting during shipping and handling
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly is segmented into the door panel and frame as separate components that are pre-assembled with hinges but remain independently supportable. The shipping system uses separate brackets attached to the frame and door panel that work together to provide rigidity without permanently joining the components, allowing the seal to be pre-established while maintaining structural independence for support during shipping.
Solution Approach 2:
The shipping system introduces intermediary components (brackets and door plugs) that temporarily connect the door panel to the frame during shipping and installation. These intermediaries provide the necessary rigidity and alignment without becoming permanent parts of the door assembly, allowing the pre-assembled seal to function while external support is provided during vulnerable periods.
2Ease of manufacture
If pre-hung doors lack rigidity during shipping and handling, then ease of assembly is improved, but alignment precision deteriorates causing bending and twisting
Solution Approach 1:
The door panel and frame are pre-assembled with hinges and seal components in the correct alignment before shipping. The shipping brackets are pre-attached to the frame, and the door plugs are positioned to engage with the brackets. This preliminary assembly and positioning ensures that when the door is received, the alignment is already established and maintained, eliminating the need for complex field alignment procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The shipping system is designed to be self-aligning through the interaction between the brackets attached to the frame and the door plugs inserted into the door panel. When the door panel is positioned on the hinges, the door plugs automatically engage with the brackets, self-correcting any minor misalignments and maintaining proper spacing without requiring external adjustment or skilled intervention.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a shipping system is added to improve rigidity, then structural stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shipping system uses simple, inexpensive brackets and door plugs that are designed for single-use during shipping and installation. These components are not intended to be permanent parts of the door assembly but serve their purpose temporarily to provide rigidity and alignment, then are removed or discarded after installation is complete, avoiding the complexity of permanent structural modifications.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than making the entire door assembly rigid through permanent structural changes, the shipping system applies localized reinforcement only where needed - at specific attachment points on the frame via brackets and at corresponding points on the door panel via door plugs. This localized approach provides the necessary structural stability during shipping without adding complexity to the overall door design or requiring modification of the door panel or frame beyond the attachment points.
Data Source
AI summary
A shipping system for a pre-hung door having a door panel hinged to a frame. The shipping system includes a bracket configured to wrap at least partially around a portion of the frame, the bracket having a first leg for extending between the door panel and the frame. The first leg may include an opening passing therethrough. The opening is intended to align with an edge bore of the door panel and with a catch bore in the frame. The shipping system also includes a door plug for insertion into a face bore of the door panel to reside at least partially within the edge bore of the door panel. The door plug is designed to releasably engage the opening of the bracket by rotation of the door plug. The bracket is removable from the pre-hung door after the pre-hung door is installed in a rough opening.