Abstract:
A door jamb that can be installed in a wall has an inward face facing inwardly toward the door and a peripheral face facing away from the door. The system has, in combination, a spaced plurality of clips each with an external arm and a transverse internal arm. The external arm is adapted for longitudinally directed, surficial attachment to the wall. Being adapted for its purpose, the internal arms are separately attached along the peripheral face of the jamb. Thereafter, with the jamb positioned in the wall, the jamb is plumbed and the external arms of the clips are surficially attached to the wall longitudinally.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to jamb installation and for clip systems for installing such jambs. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Door assemblies are often packaged as a pre-hung door hinged to a prefabricated jamb, and sold as a single unit. The door is usually temporarily secured in position so it does not swing during shipment. The door jamb is ultimately installed in a rough opening that is framed with studs edged by liners. The traditional installation involves placing the door jamb in the rough opening and plumbing it. This step requires great skill since the jamb needs to be adjusted over many degrees of freedom. Also complicating matters, the door is usually left free to swing so that the installer can reach the other side in order to make adjustments or insert wedge-shaped shims. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,609 a flange-like nailing fin is shown secured to the perimeter of a window frame, and described as being useful for door assemblies as well. This nailing fin can be folded from a stored position in front, to a working position along the side. The fin runs the full length and width of the window frame. To achieve adequate attachment strength the fin could be made relatively thick and therefore relatively heavy. The alternative, apparently chosen in this reference, is to make the fin thinner and provide many nail holes. Either approach however is disadvantageous. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,002 an F-shaped clip has one arm embedded in the edge of a door jamb, and another arm acting as a backer for the jamb. The leg of the clip is screwed into the edge of the jamb and into a steel support stud. By screwing into the edge of the jamb and by embedding an arm into that edge, one produces an obstruction that hampers attaching trim around the door jamb. The reference deals with this problem by providing specialized tongue flanges designed to fit into customized bores in the wood trim. Therefore, one cannot use standard door trim. 
     In U.S. Pat. No. 3,189,137 a J-shaped clip is pressed into an extruded door frame before being nailed to a support wall. This clip has an arm that extends away from the wall and therefore would interfere with standard door trim. This clip is only appropriate with the nonstandard support wall and extruded door frame disclosed in this reference. 
     See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,986,044; 5,692,350; and 5,771,644. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the illustrative embodiments demonstrating features and advantages of the present invention, there is provided a system for installing in a wall a jamb for a door. The jamb has an inward face facing inwardly toward the door and a peripheral face facing away from the door. The system has, in combination, a spaced plurality of clips each having an external arm and a transverse internal arm. The internal arm is adapted for attachment to the peripheral face of the jamb. The external arm is adapted for longitudinally directed, surficial attachment to the wall. 
     According to another aspect of the invention a method employing clips is provided. The clips each have an external arm and a transverse internal arm for installing in a wall a door jamb. The jamb has an inward face facing inwardly toward the door and a peripheral face facing away from the door. The method includes the step of separately attaching the internal arms of the clips at spaced positions along the peripheral face of the jamb. Another step is positioning the jamb in the wall. The method also includes the step of plumbing the jamb and surficially attaching the external arms of the clips to the wall longitudinally. 
     By employing a system and method of the foregoing type, installation of door jambs is greatly facilitated, especially for pre-hung doors. In one preferred embodiment, a clip can have a long arm designed for attachment to a jamb, and a short transverse arm designed for attachment to a wall. The preferred clip can be fairly thin and have fairly tight bending radiuses, so that the clip can be mounted flush without obstructing the installation of trim. Preferably, the long arm will be first installed on the jamb before attempting to install the jamb in a rough opening. In some embodiments the long arm can be temporarily secured to the jamb by a prefabricated, pointed tang that was struck from the long arm. 
     In one preferred clip, the short arm has a mark for orienting a level to determine whether the jamb is plumb. This mark can be made by inking, engraving, or by striking a tab out of the arm. In one highly preferred embodiment, the short arm can swing semaphore-like. Accordingly, the long arm can be secured to the jamb, and the short arm can be swung back to overlap the jamb and door. In this position, the short arm can be held against the edge of the jamb to establish the depth of insertion of the long arm along the jamb before securing the long arm to the jamb. In some instances, the short arm can then be tacked to the door to secure it for transportation. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above brief description as well as other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of presently preferred but nonetheless illustrative embodiments in accordance with the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clip for a system and method in accordance with the principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial, perspective view of a rough opening in a wall about to receive a door jamb fitted with the clips of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the door jamb of FIG. 1 installed in the rough opening; 
     FIG. 4 is a detailed perspective view of the installation of one of the clips of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG. 3; 
     FIGS. 6A and 6B are detailed cross-sectional views showing the effect on tolerances if the clip has appreciable rounding at its bend; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a clip that is an alternate to that of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, detailed perspective view of the distal end of the long arm of the clip of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 9 is a detailed, perspective view of the clip of FIG. 7 positioned against a jamb; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the clip of FIG. 7 installed on a door jamb with the short arm swung back over the edge of the jamb; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 10, but with the short arm swung away from the jamb; 
     FIG. 12 is a fragmentary, elevational view of the assembly of FIG. 9 installed in a rough opening; 
     FIG. 13 is an elevational view of the short arm of a clip that is an alternate to that of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 14 is an elevational view of the short arm of a clip that is an alternate to that of FIG.  13 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the illustrated clip  10  is one of a plurality of clips that are used as part of a system for installing a jamb. A relatively long, internal arm  12  is integrally formed with a relatively short, external arm  14 . Arms  12  and  14  each have a circular fastener hole  16  and  20 , respectively. Arm  12  has a fastener slot  18 . 
     Tab  22  is punched or struck from arm  14  to act as an indicia or plumb means. As described further hereinafter, a level can be pressed against tab  22  to determine whether the jamb attached to clip  10  is plumb. Instead of a punched tab, other embodiments may use an inked or engraved indicia. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2-5, a rough opening  24  in wall  26  is framed by studs  28  and a header  30  supported by liners  32 . Header  30  can support an additional stud  29 . Wall  26  is covered in the usual fashion by sheet rock  34  or the like. While only a fragment of sheet rock  34  is illustrated, in actual embodiments it will cover the studs  28  and  29 , as well as liners  32  and header  30 . A pre-hung door  36  is shown attached by hinges  38  to a door frame assembly, including jambs  40  and  42 , and door frame header  44 , to form an assembly  35 . Doors stops  46  and  48  are secured to the inward faces of jambs  40  and  42 . A similar door stop (not shown) is secured to the inward face of header  44 . 
     In this embodiment six clips as shown in FIG. 1 have their internal arms  12  attached to the peripheral faces of the jambs, three on jamb  40  and three on jamb  42 . It will be understood that a different number of clips may be used in other embodiments, depending upon the desired strength, rigidity, speed of installation, etc. Each of the clips are positioned with the internal arms  12  at right angles to the length of the jambs, and with the outside face of external arm  14  substantially flush with the edges of the jambs  40  and  42 . 
     The installer can initially secure the internal arm  12  through slot  18  with a nail  49 . Slot  18  allows a substantial amount of adjustment. Thereafter, the installer can fix the clip  10  in place by nailing through hole  16  and, optionally, placing an additional nail through slot  18 . Instead of nails, the installer may use screws, staples, or other fastening devices. While avoiding an overlapping placement at the same height as a hinge or other door hardware, two of the clips  10  will be placed near the top of the jambs, two near the bottom, and two near the middle. The top and bottom clips may be spaced  15  cm from the top and bottom, although other spacings are contemplated. 
     Next, door assembly  35  is positioned in the rough opening  24  with the external arms  14  placed flush against wall  26 . Next, the installer will slightly lift an upper corner of the door assembly  35  (for example, where clip  10  is closest to the top hinge  38 ) by inserting a pry bar or other lifting lever under the assembly. This top clip may now be nailed into place using fastener hole  20  of external arm  14 . The installer may now place a level against the tabs  22  (FIG. 1) of the top and bottom clip  10 , and make adjustments to ensure that clips  10  and therefore jamb  40  are plumb. The installer will now nail bottom clip  10  in place. This procedure will now be repeated with the top and bottom clip  10  on knob-side jamb  42 . Next, the two middle clips  10  will be nailed in place through their fastener holes  20 . At this time, the installer may wish to hammer tabs  22  flush, so they no longer protrude and will not interfere with the trim installation, to be described presently. 
     Significantly, this procedure is performed without shims and without the need to open door  36 . 
     The installer may now nail trim pieces  50  to cover the border of wall  26  and the edges of jambs  40  and  42 . An important feature of clips  10  is that they are arranged to remain substantially flush and do not obstruct or interfere with the installation of trim pieces. 
     Referring to FIG. 6A, jamb  42  is positioned to be substantially co-planar with the outside surface of sheet rock  34  of wall  26 . Arms  12  and  14  are nailed to and therefore flush with jamb  42  and sheet rock  34 , respectively. The transition between arms  12  and  14  is shown occurring with a bend radius R, which is somewhat exaggerated for illustrative purposes. To accommodate the bend radius, arm  12  must be spaced at least the distance R from the edge of sheet rock  34  of wall  26 . When the thickness of arm  12  is added, the minimum separation between wall  26  and jamb  42  is distance D. If one were to attempt to bring jamb  42  adjacent to wall  26 , jamb  42  would need to the shifted outwardly as shown in FIG. 6B, in which case arm  14  will not lie flush against sheet rock  34 . Instead, arm  14  would be separated by previously mentioned distance D. Thus the jamb would be misaligned and the arm  14  would be difficult to secure to the wall  26 . 
     For this reason, in the preferred embodiment arms  12  and  14  are made relatively thin, preferably about ⅛ inch (3.2 mm), or less. Also, the bend radius R is also made relatively small, preferably about ⅛ inch (3.2 mm), or less. It is important to keep these dimensions relatively small so that the jamb can be brought relatively close to the wall, if needed: otherwise, adjustment of the jamb will be rather restricted. 
     Referring to FIGS. 7-9, an alternate clip  52  is shown with an internal arm  54  whose proximal end is bent into a stub  58 . External arm  56  is a swing member of that is pivotally attached to stub  58  by means of rivet  60 . FIG. 9 shows this pivoting feature by showing in phantom, rotation from an alternate position for arm  56 . 
     Arm  56  has a fastener hole  68  and a tab  66  similar to the ones previously shown in FIG. 1 (e.g., tab  22 ). Arm  56  also has a tacking hole  70 , used for purposes to be described presently. 
     Arm  54  is shown with three spaced fastener holes  62 . A pointed tang  64  is punched out of arm  54  arm between the two outermost ones of the holes  62 . Tang  64  is a triangular element that is bent outwardly at a right angle from arm  54 . As will be described presently, tang  64  can be embedded into the jamb to temporarily secure arm  54 . 
     Referring to FIG. 10, arm  56  is shown rotated 180° from the position shown in FIG.  7 . Consequently, arm  56  can be pressed along the edge of jamb  40  to determine the insertion depth of arm  54 . With clip  52  positioned as shown, a hammer may be struck against tang  54 , embedding it in jamb  40  temporarily. Thereafter, nails  63  may be hammered through fastener holes  62  to permanently secure arm  54  to jamb  40 . 
     As previously mentioned, jamb  40  is part of a door assembly having pre-hung door  36 . In some instances, clip  52  may be installed on the door assembly by the original equipment manufacturer. In that case, arm  56  can be tacked to door  36  by hammering tack  72  through tacking hole  70  into door  36 . Consequently, door  36  will be held in place and will not swing during shipment. Also, when the door assembly is delivered, its outline will be relatively compact. In preferred embodiments, the door assembly can be squarely pushed through a rough opening, since arm  56  does not extend excessively from the peripheral face of jamb  40 . 
     Referring to FIG. 11, arm  56  was untacked from door  36  and swung 180° to extend outwardly and perpendicularly from the peripheral face of jamb  40 . Thus positioned, clips  52  can be used for installing the door assembly in the same manner described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5. 
     Referring to FIG. 13, a clip  74  is shown, which is an alternate to that of FIG.  1 . Clip  74  is shown with a fastener hole on its shorter, external arm  78 . Instead of the previously mentioned tab (tab  22  of FIG. 1) external arm  78  has a diamond-shaped hole  80  punched therein. The installer can visually align the edge of a level with this diamond to determine whether the assembly is plumb. Alternatively, the installer can align the string of a plumb bob with diamond-shaped holes  80 . 
     Referring to FIG. 14, an alternate clip  82  is shown with a fastener hole  84  in its external arm  86 . In this embodiment, the previously mentioned plumb means is replaced with a hook-like projection  88  that is stamped from the body of clip  82 . As before, a level can be pressed against the tip of projection  88  to determine whether the assembly is plumb. 
     It is appreciated that various modifications may be implemented with respect to the above described, preferred embodiment. While the clips of the preferred embodiment are steel stampings, in other embodiments the clips can be made by molding, machining, or otherwise fashioning other metals, plastics, or other materials. Furthermore, alternate clips can be made from a number of discrete components that can be made from different materials to form a composite. In some embodiments, the inside corner between the internal and external arms of the clip can be relieved to provide additional clearance. In addition, the number and the shape of the various fastening holes can be varied depending upon the requirements of a particular application. Moreover, the shape of the arms need not be rectangular but can be rounded or may be broken into Y-shaped or T-shaped branches. Additionally, the foregoing installation steps can be supplemented with additional steps or the steps can be performed in a different order depending upon the circumstances. 
     Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.