Fixture and method for supporting door panels during painting and finishing

A fixture that allows for quickly preparing, painting and finishing a plurality of door panels that have opposed side surfaces interconnected by a relatively narrow edge. The fixture includes upper and lower horizontal support bars. A plurality of spaced vertical support bars extend between and are slidably attached to the upper and lower horizontal support bars so that the spacing between vertical support bars may be adjusted to accommodate the size of the door panels. A plurality of mounting stations are on the vertical supports. A pair of pins are received by the mounting stations and engage the opposite edges of a panel for pivotal movement, painting and finishing of the panel there between.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a fixture and method for painting and finishing door panels or drawer fronts, and, in particular to a fixture for holding a plurality of door panels for painting and finishing thereof, and a method for working on a plurality of door panels.

BACKGROUND

Painting door and drawer panels for cabinets and the like is a time intensive process. Most contractors who work in this field will lay the panels flat on saw benches, boxes, and other makeshift work pieces. One side then is treated and left to dry. The panels are then flipped over to treat the other side. This is repeated as many times as is necessary to adequately treat, prime, paint, or otherwise finish the door panels. Between actual working time and drying, this process might take five to seven working days or more to complete 20 to 30 doors.

An additional drawback for current door panel preparation is also the amount of floor space typically required to prepare, treat, and dry the door panels. For cabinets in a medium size kitchen, there might be 20 to 30 different panels to work on. Using the makeshift work pieces, where only one or two panels are used per sawhorse pair, for example, the amount of space required to complete the job in an orderly fashion would be quite large.

There have been attempts to decrease the time needed to paint or finish a set of door panels. Various configurations of fixtures have been developed to hold a panel in place while working. These designs, however, still require an unreasonable amount of steps to prepare, paint, and finish a door panel, while not providing much, if any, improvement in the time required to complete the job.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The inventor has addressed this need for improved efficiency and space utilization in door panel painting by developing a fixture that allows for simultaneously quickly preparing, painting and finishing a plurality of panels. The door panels are typically for various cabinets, and other smaller doors, and the like. The terms “panels” or “door panels” are used interchangeably herein, and both refer to a panel that may be for either a cabinet door, kitchen cabinet door or drawer fronts, or small closets and the like, that has opposed side surfaces interconnected by a relatively narrow edge.

The fixtures include upper and lower horizontal support bars. A plurality of spaced vertical support bars extend between and are slidably attached to the upper and lower horizontal support bars so that the spacing between vertical support bars may be adjusted to accommodate the width of the door panels.

Another aspect of the invention is the vertical support bars themselves, which are U-shaped channels. Each bar is provided with a plurality of panel mounting stations, which, according to one aspect, are vertically spaced pairs of slots in the legs of the U-shaped channels. Pairs of pins are used with the mounting stations to support the door panels. Each pin having one end so configured as to engage and hold the narrow edge of one of the panels and a shaft so configured as to be received and supported by one of the slots in the adjacent vertical support bar. Each pair of pins removably engage the opposite edges of a panel and support one of the panels in the fixture for pivotal movement, painting and finishing of the panel.

According to another aspect of the invention, each pin includes a retainer sleeve which steadies the panel during finishing or painting to prevent unintended tilting or pivoting of the panel.

Another aspect of the invention is a method of economically holding, finishing and painting a plurality of panels. A user arranges a plurality of panels on the fixture and begins either prepping or painting one side of the panels. The fixtures may comprise a frame that can receive a plurality of panels of the same or different size or shape in a way that each of the panels may be pivotally mounted on the fixture. The plurality of panels are then turned about a pivot while remaining on the fixture, so the other side may be either prepped, painted or finished as the one side is drying.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below and illustrated in the accompanying figures. The embodiments described are only for purposes of illustrating the present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention, which, of course, is limited only by the claims below. Other embodiments of the invention, and certain modifications and improvements of the described embodiments, will occur to those skilled in the art, and all such alternate embodiments, modifications, and improvements are within the scope of the present invention.

Referring toFIGS. 1A and 1B, a fixture10is shown holding a plurality of door panels20a,20b,20c, and20dfor preparation, painting and finishing thereof. The fixture10includes side supports15and17, upper and lower horizontal supports30and32, and a plurality of vertical supports40and140attached to the horizontal supports30and32. Vertical supports40and140are exemplary only in that there can be more. Frame struts12and14provide stability to and support fixture10. The side supports15,17and vertical40,140supports include channels16,18,41and141, respectively. The supports/channels have a plurality of mounting stations, as will be discussed below. The panels20a,20b,20c, and20dare held in position by, and are pivotable between, pairs of pins160,260,360, and460on the mounting stations150,250,350,450, respectively. The number of mounting stations and pin pairs may be increased to provide for more variance in the vertical dimension (height) of the door or drawer panels as needed. The side supports15,17and vertical supports40and140are illustrated as continuous, but could be discontinuous, depending on the gauge or strength of the channels16,18,41, and141. If strong enough, channels16,18,41, and141could be used without supports.

The fixture10permits a user to work on either side of the door panels without removal of the panel therefrom. This aspect of the fixture10saves time in preparing, painting and finishing the plurality of door panels. In addition, floor space utilization is minimized because a plurality of door panels may be placed on fixture10at a time, side by side, and one above the other for painting, finishing, and drying. Further, in an embodiment, the fixture10allows a user to work on different sized door panels, regardless of their position on the fixture10. For example, as shown inFIG. 1C, even different width door panels may be held between adjacent vertical supports40and140by using larger pins. At mounting station250, the pin pairs260aand260bhold a first sized door panel20b. At mounting station350, longer pin pairs360aand360bare used to hold door panel20c, which is narrower than door panel20b.

While one fixture10is shown in the figures, one or more fixtures may be used to prepare, paint and finish as many door panels as needed. In an embodiment, multiple fixtures may be secured together.

The upper and lower horizontal supports30,32and side supports15,17are illustrated as being permanently welded. They could also be removably connected to each other by any number of connecting devices, e.g., screws, bolts, brackets, etc. Accordingly, in one embodiment, the fixture10may be easily collapsed by removing the upper and horizontal support bars30and32and vertical support bars40and101, and storing the components for later use.

Referring again toFIGS. 1A,1B and3, the vertical supports40and140are slidably connected along upper and lower horizontal support bars30and32. In the embodiment shown, upper and lower supports30,32are U-shaped channels. Clamps200aand210aare used to removably and slidably secure the vertical support40to the upper support30, while clamps200band210bengage the lower support32. The vertical supports40and140may slide along the upper horizontal supports30and32to preselected positions, thereby adjusting the spacing therebetween to accommodate the size of the door panel that is being worked on. As earlier suggested, the fixture10may have more than two vertical supports as needed. In an embodiment, the fixture10may be enlarged to accommodate more than two or three vertical supports as the need may arise. The vertical supports may be rigid, to extend between, and be slidably connected to the upper and lower horizontal supports30and32.

FIG. 3illustrates how the vertical supports40and140may slide along the upper and horizontal supports30and32to adjust the spacing between adjacent vertical supports for processing wider or narrower panels. For example, the fixture10may have a first spacing, S1, between the side15and the vertical support40in its first selected position B. The first spacing, S1, is sized to a particular range of length or width of a door panel. The vertical support40may be moved along the horizontal supports closer to the side support15to its second selected position A, thereby creating a second spacing, S2. In another embodiment, the vertical support bar40may stay in its original position B, relative to the vertical support bar140, to have a third spacing, S3, that holds a particular size range of door panels. The vertical support bar140may also slide along the horizontal supports30and32from a first selected position C to a second position D, thereby creating a second spacing, S4.

FIGS. 4A,4B, and4C show an exemplary embodiment of a vertical support40or140with clamp pairs200,210and an exemplary mounting station150. As described above, the clamp pairs200,210have an upper clamp200a,210aand lower clamp200b,210b. The clamps200aand200bare used to removably secure vertical supports at selected locations on the upper and lower horizontal support bars30and32to form the spacings described above. The clamps include a tab or flange202,212extending from the vertical support40,140that forms a slot which receives the horizontal support30or32. The clamps include a screw204,214, that when tightened against flange202,212, removably secure the vertical support40,140to a particular location on the adjacent leg of the upper and lower horizontal U-shaped supports30and32. In other embodiments, however, a variety of mechanisms may be used to secure the vertical support bars to the upper horizontal supports30and32. For example, other types of screws, bolts, pins, biased springs, clips, or other fasteners and mechanical devices may be used to secure the vertical supports at a particular location on the horizontal supports to fix the spacings S1, S2, S3, as needed.

As discussed above, the vertical supports40,140(and15and17) have a plurality of mounting stations. “Mounting stations” as used herein, refers to devices or arrangements on the supports that support door panels at desired locations therebetween. The mounting stations may include slots, brackets, or other devices, used with pin pairs to engage a door panel. For example, a mounting station may include the bracket and pin shown inFIG. 8. Preferably, however, the mounting station includes a pair of slots152a,153aon the channels/supports and pin pairs160held therein as shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B. Each embodiment will be discussed below.

Referring again toFIG. 1B, the vertical supports include a plurality of mounting stations150,250,350, and450, that may be adjusted to any slot (not numbered inFIG. 1B) on the vertical supports and used with additional pin pairs to maximize the number of panels being treated simultaneously.

Referring toFIGS. 1C and 2, mounting stations250and350are shown with pin pairs260and360, respectively, on the vertical supports40and140. At mounting station250, for example, a pair of pins260aand260bholds a panel20btherebetween, while also allowing the door panel to pivot so that a user can paint or finish one side of the panel while the other side of the panel is drying. For example, referring toFIG. 2, the fixture10is shown having a door panel20bmounted between pin pairs260(pin pairs not shown) at mounting station260. The panel20bmay rotate 360° about an axis between the pin pairs260.

As shown inFIGS. 4A and 4B, each mounting station150includes slot pairs152and153in the legs of channels41,141; pin pairs160resting in slots152and153; and a sleeve165and restraining member or clip70. The channel41,141has a “U-shaped” profile with legs that extend perpendicularly out from the support. One of the legs has a plurality of slots152a,152b,152c, . . .152nalong the length of the channel, while the other leg includes corresponding slots153a,153b,153c, . . .153nthat align with the corresponding slot in the one leg. The slot pairs152,153extend from the free edge of each leg downwardly toward the back surface of the channel41,141then upwardly. The corresponding slot pairs152and153, have substantially the same elevation on channel41,141. The slots pairs152,153receive the pin160as shown inFIG. 4B. As described above, the channels16,41,141, and18, may be secured along the length of the supports15,40,140, and17, respectively. In an embodiment, the channels and supports are integrally formed as a unitary structure. In other embodiments, the channels and supports may be separate components secured together. Further, any type of support/channel configured to support a pin may be used.

A pin160extends from the mounting station150atoward an opposing pin160b(not shown inFIGS. 4A-4C, but seeFIG. 1C) on an adjacent vertical support,140for example. Opposed pins160extend into the narrow edges of the door panel20just sufficiently to normally hold the panel in position therebetween but allow pivotal movement by the operator when desired.

Referring again toFIGS. 4A and 4B, a retaining sleeve165is positioned on each pin160and cooperates with a clip70to limit swaying motion of a door panel. The retaining sleeve165may be a tubular rubber-like material with an opening extending therethrough for receiving a pin. In other embodiments, the sleeve may be a polymeric material, and may have an anti-slip coating thereon. The width of sleeve165is typically less than the distance between opposing legs of the channel41,141. As shown inFIG. 4A, the sleeve65, while on the pin160, is in contact with the rear surface of the channel41,141.

The clip70includes at one end a pair of hooks71engaging the pin160just outside the legs of the channel41,141proximate the slots152aand153a. At the other end of the clip70are locking legs74that fit into the lower, adjacent slot152band153b. A tab75may be used to pull the locking legs74out of the slots152band153b. Accordingly, the tab75may also be used to push the locking legs74into the slot152b. The clip70holds the sleeve against the base of the channel41,141, and the friction of the sleeve165against the channel41,141keeps the door panel steady during finishing and painting.

Referring toFIGS. 5A and 5B, another embodiment of a fixture110is shown holding a plurality of door panels120a,120b, and120cfor preparation, painting and finishing thereof. The fixture110, side supports115and117, upper and lower horizontal supports130and132, and a plurality of vertical supports1040and1140attached to the horizontal supports130and132. As with the other embodiment described above, vertical supports1040and1140are exemplary only, in that there can be more. Frame struts112and114provide stability to and support fixture10. The panels120a,120b, and120care held in position by, and are pivotable between, bracket pairs1150,1250, and1350located on the vertical supports1040and1141, and side supports115and117. The number of bracket pairs can be numerous as multiple panels can be mounted between each adjacent pair of vertical supports.

As with the first embodiment, the second embodiment of the fixture110also permits a user to work on either side of the door panels without removal of the panel therefrom. This aspect of the fixture110saves time in preparing, painting and finishing the plurality of door panels. In addition, floor space utilization is minimized because a plurality of door panels may be placed on fixture110at a time side by side and one above the other for painting, finishing, and drying.

As described above, while one fixture110is shown in the figures, one or more fixtures may be used to prepare, paint and finish as many door panels as needed. Multiple fixtures may be secured together. Also the fixture110may be easily collapsed by removing the upper and horizontal support bars130and132and vertical support bars1040,1140and storing the components for later use. It should be noted that the upper and lower horizontal supports130,132and side supports115,117are illustrated as being permanently welded. They could also be removably connected to each other by any number of connecting devices (screws, bolts, brackets, etc.) to provide for the above described collapsing for storage.

Referring again toFIGS. 5A,5B and7, the vertical supports1040and1140are slidably connected to the upper and lower horizontal support bars130and132(again U-shaped channels) with clamp pairs,1200and1210respectively. In the embodiment shown, clamps1200aand1210aare removably and slidably secured to the upper support130, while clamps1200band1210bengage the lower support132. The vertical supports1040and1140may slide along the upper horizontal supports130and132to preselected positions, thereby adjusting the spacing therebetween to accommodate the size of the door panel that is being worked on. As earlier suggested, the fixture110may have more than two vertical supports as needed. In the embodiment, the fixture110may be enlarged to accommodate more than two or three vertical supports as the need may arise. In addition, the vertical supports1040and1140inFIGS. 9,10,11and12, have a “U” shaped profile. In other embodiments, however, the supports may have any shape or profile that includes, but is not limited to, “L” shaped, “I” shaped (e.g., an I-beam), circular, square, rectangular, flat, or any other shape. The vertical supports may be rigid to extend between, and be slidably connected to, the upper and lower horizontal supports130and132.

Similar to embodiments described above,FIG. 7illustrates how the vertical supports1040and1140may slide along the upper and horizontal supports130and132to adjust the spacing between adjacent vertical support. For example, the fixture110may have a first spacing, S1, between the frame side16and the vertical support1040in first selected position B. The first spacing, S1, is sized to a particular length or width of a door panel. The vertical support1040may move along the horizontal supports closer to side support115to second selected position A, thereby creating a second spacing, S2. In another embodiment, the vertical support bar1040may stay in its original position (1040B), relative to the vertical support bar1140, to have a third spacing, S3, that holds a particular sized door panel. The vertical support bar1140may also slide along the horizontal supports30and32from a first selected position C to a second position D, thereby creating a second spacing, S4. Similarly bracket pairs1150,1250,1350, and1450may be adjusted vertically and used with additional bracket pairs to maximize the number of panels being treated simultaneously.

FIGS. 9,10,11and12, show an exemplary embodiment of a vertical support1040and1140with the clamp pairs1200and1210, respectively. The clamps include a housing1172forming clamp slots1174that are configured to receive the horizontal supports130or132. For example, an upper clamp slot1174areceives the upper horizontal support130, while the lower clamp slot1174breceives the lower horizontal support132.

Referring again toFIGS. 9,10,11and12, the clamps1170aand1170bare used to removably secure vertical supports1040,1140at a selected location on the upper and lower horizontal support bars130and132. In an embodiment, clamps use knobs and bolt combinations to secure the vertical supports1040,1042on the upper and lower horizontal supports130and132. However, a variety of mechanisms may be used to secure the vertical support bars to the upper horizontal supports130and132. For example, screws, bolts, pins, biased springs, clips, or other fasteners and mechanical devices may be used to secure the vertical supports at a particular location on the horizontal supports to fix the spacings S1, S2, S3, as needed.

As shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B, multiple bracket pairs1150,1250,1350, and1450, are slidably connected to sides115and117and vertical supports1040and1140. A bracket pair, e.g.,1250, is removably and slidably placed on vertical supports1040and1140and holds a panel120btherebetween, while also allowing the pivoting thereof so that a user can paint or finish one side of the panel while the other side of the panel is drying. For example, referring toFIG. 6, the fixture110is shown having a door panel120bmounted on a bracket pair1250(the other of the bracket pair not shown). The panel120bmay rotate 360° about an axis between the brackets pairs (of the pair1350).

As shown inFIG. 8, bracket1350has a projection1353that extends from the housing1352and includes two slots in opposing directions, for example, an upper slot1354and a lower slot1356. These slots (1354and1356) receive or hold the engagement pin1355, depending on the orientation of the bracket1350on the vertical support. The engagement pin1355extends from the bracket1350and toward the opposing engagement pin of the other bracket in the pair1350. Opposed engagement pins1355extend into the narrow edges of the door panel1120just sufficiently to normally hold the panel in position therebetween but allow pivotal movement by the operator when desired.

In an exemplary embodiment, each bracket pair may be used on either side of the door panel, or any of the vertical supports1040,1140and frame sides115and117as needed, depending on the orientation of the bracket discussed above. For example, as shown inFIG. 5B, one of brackets in the pair1350is positioned on the vertical support1040so that the engagement pin1355extends in one direction (shown extending toward the side support116). As needed, the bracket1350may be removed from the support1040, and rotated 180° so that the engagement pin1355would point in the opposite direction toward side support117. In this case, the slot1354inFIG. 8would be in the lower position and slot1356would be in the upper position, with the engagement pin1355placed in slot1356. This aspect of the fixture110provides the contractor or user of the fixture110flexibility to arrange panels thereon.

FIG. 8also shows that a knob1358attached to a screw may be used to secure the engagement pin within the slot1354(or1356). The bracket pin1355may be secured in a selected position along the vertical supports115,117,1040, and1140. In the embodiment show inFIG. 8, a second knob1359may be used to secure the housing1352at a selected location on the vertical support. In other embodiments, various other types of fasteners or mechanisms to fix a bracket or housing at a particular location on the vertical support bar1040,1140,1240may be used. Alternate embodiments of the engagement pin1355may form an integral part of the projection1353in housing1352. It should be noted that this bracket arrangement allows for universal adjustment along the vertical support.

As described above, another aspect of the invention is a method of economically holding, finishing and painting a plurality of door panels. A user may erect or install a fixture that is capable of removably holding a plurality of door panels in such a way that the panels are pivotal so that a user can finish and paint either surface of the door panel without removing the door panels from the fixture. More than one fixture may be used to paint and finish even a greater plurality of door panels. After installation at the desired work space, a plurality of door panels are arranged on the fixture. A user may then paint and/or finish one side of the panels. The panel(s) would then be pivoted 180° and the other side painted or finished. After each treatment is allowed to dry, the process can be repeated until the desired number of coats have been applied.

The fixtures as disclosed herein may be formed of any particular metal alloy, such as stainless steel or aluminum. In other embodiments, the fixture may be formed from suitable rigid polymeric materials. Further, portions of the fixtures may be metal or aluminum, while other parts may be polymeric.

Although the present invention has been described with exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.