Abstract:
A mechanism for providing a means of adjusting the vertical height of a hinged door having a jamb leaf ( 15 ) with jamb leaf pin barrels ( 25 ), ( 30 ) and ( 35 ) attached to a door leaf ( 40 ) with door leaf pin barrels ( 45 ) and ( 50 ) by means of a threaded hinge pin ( 20 ) penetrating leaf pin barrels ( 25 ), ( 30 ),( 35 ),( 45 ) and ( 50 ). A means ( 55 ) and ( 60 ), containing set screws ( 75 ) and ( 80 ), of adjusting the vertical height of one leaf ( 40 ) in relation to the other leaf ( 15 ). A means ( 70 ),( 72 ), ( 65 ) and ( 68 ) of mounting said adjustable hinge to a door ( 85 ) and door jamb ( 90 ).

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    None 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates to hinges, specifically to hinges used for doors. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Prior Art 
         [0005]    For years, door hinges have operated much the same way. A notch is made on the edge of a door as well as the door jamb to accommodate the hinge leafs and allow the hinge leafs to sit flush with the door edge and jamb. Once the hinge is mounted into place, there is very little room for adjustment and if adjustment is needed, further machining of the door and jamb must be made in order for the door to fit properly into the door jamb. Several attempts at solving this problem have been made such as displayed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,350,272, 994,196, 2,940,115, 5,799,370 and 6,202,255. These solve the problem, but with considerable retooling of the door and door jamb. The closest invention to this one is U.S. Pat. No. 928,760 (W. F. Hunter) Hunter&#39;s hinge solves the problem, but again because of the thickness of his hinge, it would require re-machining a door and door jamb. U.S. Pat. No. 2,373,955 shows a similar mechanism, but requires the hinge pin to be turned in order to adjust the height of the door. This is impractical because the hinge pin should stay rigid in relation to one of the hinge leafs to be stable. This invention solves this problem by providing a mechanism which allows a hinge to be adjusted vertically after the hinge has been mounted and without the need for re-machining the door or door jamb. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    This invention is a hinge with a mechanism allowing for vertical adjustment of the hinge leafs. 
       OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES 
       [0007]    Several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
       a) to provide a mechanism for adjusting a door vertically after its hinges have been installed.   b) to provide a means for said mechanism to adjust a door vertically with out further machining of a door or its jamb.   c) to provide said mechanism to the marketplace in a way that it can replace existing hinges without further machining of a door or its jamb       
 
     
    
     
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view of an Adjustable Hinge 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a view of an Adjustable Hinge attached to a door and a door jamb. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a detail top and orthographic view of an adjusting nut and adjusting nut set screw. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 4 and 5  show an alternate embodiment of my invention. 
       
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS 
       [0000]    
       
           10  adjustable hinge 
           15  jamb leaf 
           20  threaded hinge pin 
           25  jamb leaf pin barrel 
           30  jamb leaf pin barrel 
           35  jamb leaf pin barrel 
           40  door leaf 
           45  door leaf pin barrel 
           50  door leaf pin barrel 
           55  threaded adjusting nut 
           60  threaded adjusting nut 
           65  jamb leaf mounting holes 
           68  jamb leaf mounting screws 
           70  door leaf mounting holes 
           72  door leaf mounting screws 
           75  adjusting nut set screw 
           80  adjusting nut set screw 
           85  door edge 
           90  door jamb 
           95  smooth hinge pin 
           100  shaft collar 
           105  shaft collar 
           110  shaft collar set screw 
           115  shaft collar set screw 
       
     
       DESCRIPTION 
       [0039]      FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3  Preferred Embodiment 
         [0040]    A preferred embodiment of the mechanism is illustrated in  FIGS. 1  (exploded view of an adjustable hinge),  2  (view of an adjustable hinge mounted to a door and respective door jamb) and  3  (detail of adjusting nut and adjusting nut set screw showing top and orthographic views). 
         [0041]    A jamb leaf  15  is connected to pin barrels  25 ,  30 , and  35 . A door leaf  40  is connected to pin barrels  45  and  50 . A jamb leaf  15  and a door leaf  40  are connected to one another by a threaded hinge pin  20  which penetrates pin barrels  25 ,  45 ,  30 ,  50  and  35 . Adjusting nuts  55  and  60  are threaded onto a threaded hinge pin  20  in such a manner that adjusting nut  55  resides between the bottom of door leaf pin barrel  45  and the top of jamb leaf pin barrel  30  and adjusting nut  60  resides between the bottom of door leaf pin barrel  50  and the top of jamb leaf pin barrel  35 . A threaded hinge pin  20  is rigidly attached to jamb leaf pin barrels  25 ,  30  and  35  in such a manner that said threaded hinge pin  20  does not pivot within pin barrels  25 ,  30  and  35 . Openings of door leaf pin barrels  45  and  50  are made large enough to allow pin barrels  45  and  50  and thus door leaf  40  to pivot freely about threaded hinge pin  20 . Door leaf pin barrel  45  is penetrated by a threaded hinge pin  20  in such a manner that it resides between jamb leaf pin barrel  25  and adjusting nut  55 . Door leaf pin barrel  45  is made short enough in relation to the space between jamb leaf pin barrels  25  and  30  as to allow for vertical movement along a threaded hinge pin  20 . Likewise door leaf barrel  50  is penetrated by a threaded hinge pin  20  in such a manner that it resides between jamb leaf pin barrels  30  and adjusting nut  60 . Door leaf pin barrel  50  is made short enough to allow for vertical movement along a threaded hinge pin  20 . Adjusting nut  55  is held in place along a threaded hinge pin  20  by the threads of adjusting nut  55  attached to the threads of threaded hinge pin  20  and by set screw  75 . Adjusting nut  60  is held in place along a threaded hinge pin  20  by the threads of adjusting nut  60  attached to the threads of threaded hinge pin  20  and by set screw  80 . Door leaf pin barrels  45  and  50  are held in place at the desired location along a threaded hinge pin  20  by adjusting nuts  55  and  60  and respective set screws  75  and  80 . An adjustable hinge  10  is attached to a door and respective door jamb by door leaf mounting screws  72  penetrating door leaf screw holes  70  anchoring a door leaf jamb  40  to a door  85  and jamb leaf mounting screws  68  penetrating jamb leaf holes  65  anchoring a jamb leaf  15  to a door jamb  90 . 
         [0042]    FIG.  4 —Additional Embodiment 
         [0043]    An additional embodiment is shown in  FIG. 4 . A jamb leaf  15  is connected to pin barrels  25 ,  30 , and  35 . A door leaf is connected to pin barrels  45  and  50 . A jamb leaf  15  and a door leaf  40  are connected to one another by a smooth hinge pin  95  which penetrates pin barrels  25 ,  45 ,  30 ,  50  and  35 . Shaft collars  100  and  105  are penetrated by a smooth hinge pin  95  in such a manner that shaft collar  100  resides between the bottom of door leaf pin barrel  45  and the top of jamb leaf pin barrel  30  and shaft collar  60  resides between the bottom of door leaf pin barrel  50  and the top of jamb leaf pin barrel  35 . A smooth hinge pin  95  is rigidly attached to jamb leaf pin barrels  25 ,  30  and  35  in such a manner that said smooth hinge pin  95  does not pivot within pin barrels  25 ,  30  and  35 . Openings of door leaf pin barrels  45  and  50  are made large enough to allow pin barrels  45  and  50  and thus door leaf  40  to pivot freely about a smooth hinge pin  95 . Door leaf pin barrel  45  is penetrated by a smooth hinge pin  95  in such a manner that it resides between jamb leaf pin barrel  25  and shaft collar  100 . Door leaf pin barrel  45  is made short enough in relation to the space between jamb leaf pin barrels  25  and  30  as to allow for vertical movement along a smooth hinge pin  95 . Likewise door leaf pin barrel  50  is penetrated by a smooth hinge pin  95  in such a manner that it resides between jamb leaf pin barrels  30  and shaft collar  105 . Shaft collar  100  is held in place on a smooth hinge pin  95  by a set screw  110 . Shaft collar  105  is held in place on a smooth hinge pin by a set screw  115 . Door leaf pin barrels  45  and  50  are held in place at the desired location along a smooth hinge pin  95  by shaft collars  100  and  105  and respective set screws  110  and  115 . Door leaf pin barrel  50  is made short enough to allow for vertical movement along a smooth hinge pin  95 . An adjustable hinge  10  is attached to a door and respective door jamb by door leaf mounting screws  72  penetrating door leaf screw holes  70  anchoring a door leaf jamb  40  to a door  85  and jamb leaf mounting screws  68  penetrating jamb leaf holes  65  anchoring a jamb leaf  15  to a door jamb  90 . 
         [0044]    Operation—FIGS.  1 , 2  and  3   
         [0045]    The manner in which one uses an adjustable hinge  10  consists first of attaching the jamb leaf  15  to the door jamb  90  using jamb leaf mounting screws  68  inserted through jamb leaf mounting holes  65 . The jamb leaf mounting screws  68  are subsequently driven into the door jamb  90  holding the jamb leaf  15  firmly against the surface of the door jamb  90 . The door leaf  40  is attached to the edge of a door  85  by first inserting the door leaf mounting screws  72  through the door leaf mounting holes  70 . The door leaf mounting screws  72  are subsequently driven into the edge of the door  85  holding the door leaf  40  firmly against the door  85 . Adjusting nuts  55  and  60 , being threaded onto the threaded hinge pin  20 , will move vertically along the length of the threaded hinge pin  20  by turning them in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, depending on the bias of the threads. After the adjustable hinge  10  is mounted to the door  85  and door jamb  90 , the height of the door  85  can be adjusted by turning the adjusting nuts  55  and  60  in the direction that facilitates the desired vertical motion, either up or down , of the door. Pressure from the top surfaces of the adjusting nuts  55  and  60  against the bottoms of the door leaf pin barrels  45  and  50  causes the door leaf  40  and thus the attached door  85  to be moved vertically in the same direction as the vertical motion of the adjusting nuts  55  and  60 . Once the desired height of the door  85  is reached by turning the adjusting nuts  55  and  60 , the adjusting nuts  55  and  60  can be secured by driving the set screws  75  and  80  into the adjusting nuts  55  and  60  and against the threaded hinge pin  20 . 
       CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS AND SCOPE 
       [0046]    The reader will see the mechanism of the invention provides the user with a useful method of adjusting the height of a door without the need for additional machining of the door or door jamb. 
         [0047]    While my above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitation on the scope of the invention, but rather as an exemplification of one preferred embodiment thereof. Many other variations are possible. For example, the adjustable hinge can be reversed. It can be installed with the jamb leaf attached to the door and the door leaf attached to the door jamb. 
         [0048]    The size and shape of the invention should not be construed to be limited to the preferred embodiment, but may be of any size or shape that would be useful for a particular implementation. For example the size of the adjustable hinge could be scaled down to be useful for small cabinet doors, or scaled up to accommodate large barn doors. The shape could be made in any form that is practical and/or aesthetically pleasing. The adjustable hinge could also be used on lids where the adjustment is needed in the horizontal, instead of the vertical direction.