Patent Publication Number: US-2007113484-A1

Title: Modular assembly system

Description:
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
      None.  
     FIELD OF TH INVENTION  
      The present invention pertains to methods and apparatus for manufacturing, marketing, retailing and assembling modular combinations of structural elements to furnish doors, panels, partitions, walls, enclosures or other constructions. More particularly, one preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes a number of generally planar elements that are assembled by an ordinary-skilled consumer. The invention may be embodied as a door, panel, partition or some other vertically-disposed structure for the home or office. A consumer purchases a relatively small package which contains a stack of the modular elements, transports the package to their home or office in the trunk, back seat or storage compartment of a conventional car or truck, and then assembles the modular elements without using special tools or hiring a contractor.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Every year, Americans purchase millions of doors for homes, offices and places of business. A vast majority of these doors are sold as completed and finished products. Many of these doors are delivered and installed by contractors. Conventional, pre-finished doors that are available at retail outlets like The Home Depot®, Lowe&#39;s® or Sears® are generally too large to transport safely in the family car. These conventional doors may also be rather heavy, and are difficult to move and to carry through small areas. Many of these doors require the expertise of a contractor, and can not be put in place without special tools.  
      No currently available conventional door can be purchased in a package that is easy to carry and transport, and then can be assembled by the consumer without special tools or expertise. The development of such a product would satisfy long felt needs in the home and office furnishings business, and would constitute an advance in the hardware and construction industries.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention comprises methods and apparatus for providing structural elements which may be purchased in a kit that is contained in a small portable package. The consumer may purchase this product in a retail store, bring it home in a typical family car, and then assemble and install the product without special tools or expertise.  
      An appreciation of the other aims and objectives of the present invention, and a more complete and comprehensive understanding of this invention, may be obtained by studying the following description of preferred and alternative embodiments, and by referring to the accompanying drawings.  
    
    
     A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  shows a family arriving at their local retailer.  
       FIG. 2  shows the family purchasing an EasyDoor™ Modular Assembly.  
       FIG. 3  illustrates the ease of transporting the EasyDoor™. After carrying the portable package out to the parking lot, the EasyDoor™ can be stowed in the trunk or in the back seat of a typical family car.  
       FIGS. 4 and 5  portray the quick and easy installation of the EasyDoor™ by an ordinarily-skilled consumer without special tools or expertise.  
       FIG. 6  exhibits the installation of alternative embodiments of the invention, which may include customized panels having different interchangeable colors, materials, prints, scenery or popular characters from books, cartoons or movies.  
       FIGS. 7 and 8  depict the assembly of one basic embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 9  furnishes a view of a connector that may be employed to assembly one of the embodiments of the invention.  
       FIGS. 10 and 11  depict the assembly of another embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 12  provides a detailed view of the assembly of one embodiment of the invention.  
    
    
     A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED &amp; ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS  
       FIG. 1  depicts a family  10  arriving at a local retail store  12 . Once inside the store  12 , the shoppers  10  find a display for one embodiment of the present invention, the EasyDoor™  14 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , all the parts of an unassembled door  14  are packaged in a relatively small, portable and easy-to-transport package  16  that has its own carrying handle.  
       FIG. 3  shows the family  10  returning to the parking lot outside the retail store  12 , where the EasyDoor™ package  16  is stowed in the trunk  18  of a typical family car  20 . In this embodiment, the package  16  is so compact that it can even be carried inside the passenger compartment of the car  20 .  
      After arriving back home, the family  10  is ready to install the EasyDoor™  14  as the interior entry door to Janie&#39;s room, as shown in  FIG. 4 . All of the components and connectors for the door are arranged in a stack in a package. The parts may be unassembled, or partially assembled. A typical size for the box containing this door is approximately two feet wide by three feet long by six inches high.  
      In this embodiment of the invention, the packaging  16  is opened and the components of the EasyDoor™  14  are assembled by the consumer with ordinary skill without any special tools or expertise. Due to the compact size of the components, the door may be assembled in a small room without any special table or workbench. The components are fitted together either on the floor, or may be leaned against a wall as it is constructed, as shown in  FIG. 5 . The assembled door may be installed on hinges, hung on a track with rollers or guides, or attached to a door frame in any suitable fashion with various types of hardware. Other embodiments of the invention may include bi-fold doors or stationary panels.  
       FIG. 6  offers a view of an alternative embodiment of the invention, which may include doors having: 
          panels with different color combinations, finishes or different materials;     sections with printed or painted scenes; or     surfaces bearing various illustrations of characters from books, cartoons or films.        
      This feature is especially beneficial for doors or panels installed in the rooms of children, who may wish to change the colors or scenes on door panels frequently to display favorite characters from popular books or movies.  
       FIG. 7  furnishes an illustration of the components of one embodiment of the invention. In general, the present invention comprises one or more primary elements  22  and one or more secondary elements  24  (which may be optional, and which are described below). In general, each primary element  22  includes at least one transverse surface  26 . In this Specification and in the Claims that follow, the term “transverse” is meant to connote any line, plane or surface that generally runs from side to side, including any horizontal or diagonal that is either parallel to the floor or to the ground, or forms an angle with the floor or ground that is less than ninety degrees. In one embodiment of the invention, when primary elements  22  are assembled, each transverse surface  26  is generally parallel to the floor or to the ground. In general, each primary element  22  has a transverse surface  26  which has a hole  28  that is configured to receive a connector  30 . The term “hole” is intended to encompass a recess, mortise, slot, hollow, or any other suitable negative or evacuated space that is capable of receiving a connector  30 . In an alternative embodiment, other alternative joining methods may be utilized, including glues, adhesives, epoxies and suitable types of compression fittings or other “snap-together” hardware.  
      In general, when primary elements  22  are combined with connectors  30 , the result is a fully assembled structure  32 . In some embodiments, the assembled structure  32  may also include secondary elements  24 . These secondary elements may include rails  24   r  and stiles  24   s , and are described below. In another embodiment of the invention, these transverse surfaces may be aligned diagonally, meaning that they form an angle with the floor or ground that is less than ninety degrees.  
      As an example, one of the particular embodiments of the invention is a door  32 D. In this Specification and in the Claims that follow, the general reference character “ 32 ” pertains to a wide variety of assembled structures. More specific reference characters which include “ 32 ” and a capital letter, such as “ 32 D,” pertain to a particular embodiment of the more generalized term “structure.” 
      In one embodiment of the invention which is portrayed in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , a door  32 D generally comprises a combination of panels  22  and connectors  30 . In this example, the panels  22  are the primary elements. Panels  22  are generally planar, rectangular sections that may be fabricated from natural wood, plywood, particle board, paper-wrapped chipboard, heavy paper, drywall, plastic, composite, glass, mirror, metal (such as aluminum) or any other suitable natural or man-made material. In this example, each panel  22  has the same width, measuring across from side to side along a line that is generally parallel to the floor. This type of panel  22  includes two transverse surfaces  26 , which are the narrow top and bottom surfaces which are parallel to the floor when the door  32 D is assembled. These transverse surfaces  26  are generally flat, and include holes  28  for connectors  30  that hold the finished door  32 D together as a single unit. The connectors  30  may include dowels, rods, cylinders, pins, shafts, pegs, tenons, screws, bolts, brackets or any suitable projection, member, protuberance, appendage or mechanical coupling, engaging, grasping, bonding, joining, holding, locking, retaining or affixing means or a some device that snaps or presses together.  
      Specific examples of connectors  30  that may be utilized to implement the present invention are shown in  FIG. 9 . In one embodiment, cam and bolt connectors manufactured by Häfele of Archdale, N.C. may be used as connectors  30  to implement the present invention. This combination of a cam  30 C and a bolt  30 B (and an optional trim cap  30 TC) are sometimes referred to as a “cam lock.” In general, a cam lock comprises two members that fit together, and then one of the members is twisted or rotated to supply a strong mechanical connection. The Häfele Maxiflix Universal Connector shown in  FIG. 9  is composed of metal, but the connector employed by the present invention may be fashioned from wood, plastic or any other suitable material.  
      In another embodiment of the invention, some connectors  30  may be preinstalled, preset or pre-glued in the holes  28 .  
      The particular embodiment of the door  32 D shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8  is assembled without special tools or carpentry skills. After opening the package  16 , the consumer  10  removes a stack of three panels  22  and a set of connectors  30 , which may be enclosed in a plastic bag. The three panels  22  may be placed on the floor in a row, so that the side edges of the three panels are aligned along the same line. The consumer  10  then inserts the connectors  30  in the holes  28  that have been pre-drilled in the transverse surfaces  26  of the panels  22 . The top and bottom of the three panels  22  are then moved toward the center of the three panels  22 , to engage the connectors  30 .  
      In an alternative embodiment, the door may also include secondary elements  24 , such as rails  24   r  and stiles  24   s . In general, a rail  24   r  is a horizontal element that abuts a panel  22 . In general, a stile  24   s  is a vertical element that abuts a panel  22 . In one embodiment, stiles  24   s  and  24   r  rails include a groove to insert a panel of a desired material. This embodiment is illustrated in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . The completed product with rails  24   r  and stiles  24   s  is shown as door  32 DRS. The assembly procedure for this embodiment  32 DRS is generally the same as the more basic embodiment  32 D, except that additional elements  24   r  and  24   s  are assembled around the panels. A detailed view of the assembly of one embodiment of the invention is shown in  FIG. 12 .  
      An assembled door  32 D or  32 DRS may be installed using any suitable hardware, such as hinges, hangers, rails, tracks, guides or rollers. A new assembled door  32 D or  32 DRS may be mounted on existing or on new hardware.  
      This implementation of the invention may also be supplemented with other hardware, such as knobs, handles, entry lock sets. One of the panels in the unassembled kit may have a preformed hole to accept a knob or handle.  
      The apparatus and methods that are utilized to construct the door embodiments  32 D and  32 DRS of the present invention may be extended to all types of doors, including entry doors, closet doors, pocket doors, folding doors, saloon doors, sliding doors, interior doors and exterior doors.  
      In other embodiments, the apparatus and methods of the invention may be implemented in the general form of a desk, chair, table, bookcase, cabinet, storage box, bed, countertop, window or any other manifestation of furniture, furnishing or element of a building, shelter, enclosure or structure.  
     CONCLUSION  
      Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to one or more preferred embodiments, persons possessing ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains will appreciate that various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the Claims that follow. The various alternatives for providing a Modular Assembly System that have been disclosed above are intended to educate the reader about preferred embodiments of the invention, and are not intended to constrain the limits of the invention or the scope of Claims.  
     LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS  
     
         
           10  Family  
           12  Retail store  
           14  EasyDoor™ (unassembled in box)  
           16  Easy to carry package  
           18  Trunk  
           20  Family car  
           22  Primary element (panel)  
           24  Secondary element  
           24   r  Rail  
           24   s  Stile  
           26  Transverse surface  
           28  Hole  
           30  Connector  
           30 B Bolt  
           30 C Cam  
           30 TC Trim cap  
           32  Assembled structure  
           32 D Assembled door  
           32 DRS Assembled door with rails and stiles