Patent ID: 6981351

Claim:
A fire rated door assembly that gives an architectural glazing construction appearance, said door assembly comprising: a door jamb; said door jamb comprising a material to provide said door jamb with a fire rating and thus with the capability to withstand fire a predetermined time with a predetermined fire temperature on a fire exposed side of said door jamb and a predetermined maximum temperature on the non-fire exposed side of said door jamb; at least one door leaf; said at least one door leaf being configured to be mounted at said door jamb and to open and to close; said door jamb being configured to enclose at least: the upper edge of said at least one door leaf, and one vertical edge of said at least one door leaf; and said at least one door leaf comprising: a frame; a pair of glass panes supported by said frame; said pair of glass panes comprising a first glass pane on the fire exposed side of said door leaf and a second glass pane on the non-fire exposed side of said door leaf, said first and second glass panes forming a space between them; said pair of glass panes being disposed in said frame to provide a glazing construction appearance by extending substantially over the full width and height of said frame; said frame comprising a profile structure to hold said first and second glass panes; said profile structure being configured with retaining portions in conformity with the thickness of said first glass pane on the fire exposed side and said second glass pane on the non-fire exposed sides of said door leaf; said pair of glass panes being disposed to extend substantially fully to the edges of said at least one door leaf to thereby provide a glazing construction appearance; a transparent fire protection material configured to provide said at least one door leaf with a fire rating and thus with the capability to withstand fire for a predetermined time with a predetermined fire temperature on the fire exposed side of said at least one door leaf and a predetermined maximum temperature on the non-fire exposed side of said at least one door leaf; said transparent fire protection material being disposed between said pair of glass panes in said space; at least one of said profiles being configured with at least one rounded exterior edge; said at least one rounded edge comprising on either side of said door leaf a profile projection; and each profile projection being disposed to engage a corresponding glass pane to edge at least partially cover a corresponding edge of each of said first and second glass panes.