Patent Publication Number: US-2010107524-A1

Title: Sealing spline connector

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
     The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for connecting and sealing joints between door frame members, and, more particularly to a uniformly solid polymeric spline for joining at least two door frame members together to seal against air and moisture leaks along a joint between the door frame members. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
     Exterior door frames and the like are often assembled in a manufacturing facility and shipped as an assembly for quick installation into a house or similar structure. Exterior doors are typically assembled into a frame including brickmould and jamb members. Sealing the joint between the brickmould and jamb members is required to prevent air and moisture leaks around the door. 
     It is well-known that moisture penetration causes many adverse effects on building materials and may contribute to harmful health conditions such as promoting the growth of mold. For example, when mold spores are present in large quantities, they can present a health hazard to humans, potentially causing allergic reactions and respiratory problems. 
     The prevailing method for sealing exterior door frames is to caulk around the joints. However, due to aesthetic considerations, caulking is often only done on joints that are not visible after door installation. Caulking is a manual operation and its effectiveness is determined by the level of skill of the applier and the quality of the caulk employed. If the exterior, visible portion of the joint between the brickmould and the jamb is not properly sealed, the door remains exposed to both air and moisture leaks penetrating the frame. Further, as caulk ages, it is more likely to break down, thereby becoming less effective in sealing against leaks. 
     Another feature of many exterior doors is an attractive reveal surface, often simply called a reveal, between the brickmould and the jamb. For aesthetic purposes the reveal should present a uniform appearance around the entire door frame. It would be advantageous for a door frame fastening method to assure a uniform reveal around an entire door frame, while also providing a seal for the frame. 
     In the past, splines have been generally used in the construction industry to fasten side walls and the like in order to avoid the necessity of covering over nail holes or other exposed fasteners. See, for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,547 to Brenneman, issued Sep. 25, 1973. However, use of a solid spline for joining and sealing door frames in a uniform manner, allowing for a uniform reveal, where the joint has acceptable holding power while featuring ease of installation has not been addressed until the present invention. 
     SUMMARY  
     A door frame system including at least one spline elongated in a direction of elongation, wherein the frame includes a plurality of door frame members. Each door frame member includes a brickmould and a jamb each having a groove on at least one side thereof. The door frame members are joined together by the at least one spline. The spline includes a polymeric material having a shape such that the spline has a sufficient width to fit into and extend outside of a groove in the side edge of the first door frame member and to fit into a respective groove in a side edge of the second door frame member, wherein the spline includes a top surface and a bottom surface, and wherein the spline has length matching the length of the first door frame member and the second door frame member so as to form a moisture-resistant seal along the length of the joint. The door frame system features the at least one spline concealed from view when the first door frame member and the second door frame member are connected together by the spline. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         FIG. 1  schematically shows an example of a spline. 
         FIG. 2  shows a cross section view of an edge view of an example of two door frame members joined by a spline including a reveal surface. 
         FIG. 3  shows a partially cut away plan view of an example of two door frame members joined by a spline including a reveal. 
         FIG. 4  shows an exploded view of an example of a door system wherein a plurality of door frame members are assembled to provide a door frame having a uniform reveal. 
         FIG. 5  shows a front view of an example of a door system including a reveal. 
         FIG. 6  shows an illustrative example of a method to connect at least two door frame members together. 
     
    
    
     In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or components. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elements are arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility. Further, the particular shapes of the elements as drawn, are not intended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of the particular elements, and have been solely selected for ease of recognition in the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     The following disclosure describes several embodiments and systems for imaging an object of interest. Several features of methods and systems in accordance with example embodiments of the invention are set forth and described in the Figures. It will be appreciated that methods and systems in accordance with other example embodiments of the invention can include additional procedures or features different than those shown in Figures. Example embodiments are described herein with respect to biological cells. However, it will be understood that these examples are for the purpose of illustrating the principals of the invention, and that the invention is not so limited. 
     Additionally, methods and systems in accordance with several example embodiments of the invention may not include all of the features shown in these Figures. Throughout the Figures, like reference numbers refer to similar or identical components or procedures. 
     Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, such as, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense that is as “including, but not limited to.”Reference throughout this specification to “one example” or “an example embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment” or various combinations or variations of these terms means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an example of a spline sealing connector is schematically shown. A spline  10  for connecting at least two door frame members together includes a top surface  14  and an opposing bottom surface  16 . A plurality of teeth  12  are attached to, integral with or embedded into the top surface  14  as well as the bottom surface  16 . 
     In one example embodiment, the spline  10  is a generally rectangular-shaped, uniformly solid polymeric material having an elongated shape and a width and height that are perpendicular to a direction of elongation of the spline. The width is selected to be sufficient to fit into and extend outside of a groove in a side edge of a first door frame member and fit into a respective groove in a side edge of a second door frame member. For sealing and joining two members, the spline  10  may advantageously have a length matching the length of the first door frame member and the second door frame member so as to form a moisture-resistant seal along the length of the joint. While not considered limiting, in one example the spline has a thickness of at least about 0.040 inches between the top and bottom surfaces, a width of about 1 inch and a plurality of inwardly inclined teeth  12  having a thickness of about 0.025 inches. The plurality of teeth may comprise at least two opposing pairs of inwardly inclined teeth  12 , each running the length of the spline. 
     In a useful example, the spline  10  may have a length of at least 25.5 inches up to the length of any sized door frame member. The spline  10  may be constructed using any known extrusion process or the like. The spline  10  may be constructed from extruded polymeric material, extruded thermoplastic material, co-extruded plastic materials and equivalents. For example, the spline may be constructed from an extruded or co-extruded material made from polymeric materials selected from the group consisting of plastic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), PVC alloys, polyethylene, polystyrene, thermoplastic elastomer, thermoplastic rubber, polyurethane, acrylic compounds and equivalents. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a cross section of an edge view of two door frame members joined by a spline including a reveal surface is shown. At least two door frame members including a brickmould  20  and a jamb  32  are shown in partial cross section joined by a spline  10 . The spline  10  has a first side inserted into a brickmould groove  31  and a second side inserted into a jamb groove  33 . The brickmould groove  31  and the jamb groove  33  are located so as to allow the formation of a reveal surface  30  (typically called a “reveal”) on the front of a door frame when the door frame members are assembled. Assembly of the door frame is described in more detail below. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a partially cut away plan view of an example of two door frame members joined by a spline including a reveal surface is shown. The spline  10  is shown protruding in this cut-away view for illustrative purposes. The brickmould  20  and jamb  32  are connected by the spline  10  at joint  24 . To form a seal the spline  10  runs the length of joint where the brickmould  20  and the jamb member  32  are substantially equal lengths. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , an exploded view of an example of a door system wherein a plurality of door frame members are assembled to provide a door frame having a uniform reveal is shown. Right, left and top jamb members  32   a,    32   b  and  32   c  respectively, are each joined to right, left and top brickmould members  20   a,    20   b  and  20   c  respectively by a plurality of splines  10   a,    10   b  and  10   c  to form door frame sections  43   a,    43   b  and  43   c.  The door frame sections  43   a,    43   b  and  43   c  are then assembled together using conventional techniques to form a door frame as generally indicated by directional arrows  50 A,  50 B. When the door frame sections  43   a,    43   b  and  43   c  are assembled, the plurality of splines  10   a,    10   b  and  10   c  are concealed from view. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , a front view of an example of a door system including a reveal surface is shown. A door system  400  includes a brickmould  20 , a jamb  32 , a reveal  30  and a door  40 . The brickmould  20  and jamb  32  are joined by at least one spline  10 . In some embodiments the spline connector may comprise a plurality of tightly abutting spline members joined, for example at the corners A, B. 
     Referring again to the Figures, having described the spline connector and door assembly, it is considered beneficial to the understanding of the disclosure to now describe a method for constructing joints using a uniformly solid polymeric spline to connect at least two door frame members, such as, for example, a brickmould member  20   a  and a jamb member  32   a.  In one example, a brickmould member  20   a  is prepared for joining by cutting a groove  31  into and along a brickmould mating edge. Similarly, a jamb member  32   a  is prepared for joining by cutting a groove  33  into and along a jamb mating edge. In one useful embodiment the grooves are made by using a circular saw, router or other conventional cutting means. The groove width is selected for a tight snug fit of the spline while still allowing insertion of the spline into the groove. In one example the groove is at least about 0.050 inches. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , an illustrative example of a method to connect at least two door frame members together is schematically shown. The method includes inserting one edge of at least one elongated spline  10  into a groove  631  in a side edge  621  of a first door frame member  620 . The opposite edge of the at least one elongated spline  10  is inserted into a groove  633  in a side edge of a second door frame member  632 . The at least one elongated spline  10  includes a polymeric material having a shape and dimensions such that the at least one elongated spline has a sufficient width to fit into and extend outside of the groove in the side edge of the first door frame member and to fit into the groove in the side edge  635  of the second door frame member  632 , wherein the at least one elongated spline  10  includes a top surface and a bottom surface. The first door frame member  620  and the second door frame member  632  are forced together so as to connect the first and second door frame members with the spline  10 , thereby forming a moisture resistant joint between the first door frame member  620  and the second door frame member  632 . After assembly, the spline  10  is concealed from view in an assembled door frame section  600 . In one useful embodiment the first door frame member  620  is a brickmould and the second door frame member  632  is a door jamb. 
     The spline may advantageously be inserted into one of the brickmould groove or the jamb groove by applying a force as by hammering, pressing or other means. A flat surface element, such as a board or flat plate, may be used to buffer and protect the spline from the hammer or press. As described above, the spline is constructed with a plurality of teeth  12  on both the top and bottom surfaces, wherein the plurality of teeth  12  is adapted to the fit into the grooves. In order to allow for a uniform reveal, the grooves are positioned to provide an offset between the brickmould  20  and the jamb  32  when connected by the spline. The spline is inserted into the first groove and the second groove so as to offset the abutting surfaces of the brickmould and the jamb to form a uniform reveal edge on a front side of the joint. In some useful embodiments, the brickmould and the jamb may be constructed from material selected from the group consisting of fiberglass, wood, and wood composites. 
     The invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the Patent Statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles of the present invention, and to construct and use such exemplary and specialized components as are required. However, it is to be understood that the invention may be carried out by specifically different equipment, and devices, and that various modifications, both as to the equipment details and operating procedures, may be accomplished without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.