WO1992016367A1

WO1992016367A1 - Door hinge masking cover

Info

Publication number: WO1992016367A1
Application number: PCT/US1991/002036
Authority: WO
Inventors: Harold J. Keinath
Original assignee: Keinath Harold J
Priority date: 1991-03-25
Filing date: 1991-03-25
Publication date: 1992-10-01

Abstract

A painter's aid for use when finishing a door with hinges attached comprising two cutout masking covers (10) and (11) of paper or a paper-like material with a covering of adhesive (12) and attached to removable backing sheet (13), one cutout (10) being substantially square with a centrally upward extending tab (22) and adapted to cover the two hinge plates (17) and the hinge pin (18) when the hinge is fully open; and the other cutout (11) is an elongated rectangle adapted to cover the hinge pin (19) and adjoining portions of the hinge when the hinge is closed.

Description

POOR HINGE MASKING COVER

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of finishing or painting doors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The finishing of a door with hinges attached has always been a difficult task to accomplish without getting some of the finish, paint, varnish, or the like, on the hinge. The application of masking tape to hinge to protect it has not been a feasible solution because it takes too much time to cover the hinge by using pieces of masking tape. As a result, painters generally use no masking cover at all.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a precut adhesive coated shape to each side of the hinge to cover the exposed parts of a hinge attached to a door and a door frame. It is another object of this invention to pro¬ vide a sheet with a plurality of precut adhesive-coated masking covers attached to a removable backing sheet. Still other objects will appear from the more detailed description which follows.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ^• This invention relates to a door hinge cover for use in finishing a door with hinges, the cover comprising two cut¬ out pieces of a flexible cover material having one side of each piece covered with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and adhered to a removable backing sheet, one of said pieces being the inside cover having the size and shape of two ad¬ jacent hinge plates joined to a central hinge pin as seen from the open side of an open door and the other of said pieces being an elongated rectangle of sufficient length and width to cover the hinge pin and adjacent cooperating portions of said hinge plates as seen from the side of said door oppo¬ site to said open side. In specific preferred embodiments of this invention the inside cover includes a tab centrally located along the top or bottom edge of the masking cover to be used to pull the cover away from the hinge after the finishing has been completed. In other preferred embodiments a plurality of precut masking covers may be embodied on a sheet or on a long strip rolled up as a dispensing roll of covers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The novel features believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the ap¬ pended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a sheet of precut masking covers of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a dispensing roll of masking covers of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the open inside surface of a hinge on a door and door frame before application of a masking cover;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the hinge of FIG. 3 after being covered by a masking cover of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the outside surface of the the hinge, door, and door frame of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the hinge of FIG. 5 after being covered by a masking cover of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND ITS BEST MODE OF EMBODIMENT

The features of this invention are best understood by reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the cutout pieces of the masking covers for use in accordance with this invention. A top sheet of paper 9 is coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive 12 and laminated to a backing sheet of release paper 13. Top sheet 9 is precut into two covers, 10 and 11, such that each can be separately stripped from the original laminate to allow cover 10 to to Be applied to faces of an open hinge attached to a door and its cooperating door frame, and cover 11 to be applied to the back side of a hinge when accessible when the door is closed. Top sheet 9 preferably is a moisture proof material, such as a vinyl or polyester film, or a paper coated with such plastic materials so that the paint or varnish being used to finish the door and door frame do not become absorbed into the top sheet 9. Adhesive coating 12 preferably is a pressure-sensitive adhesive such as that found on adhesive tapes or masking tapes available on the market today. Backing sheet 13 is a plastic film or a plastic coated paper where the plastic is readily stripped away from the pressure-sensitive adhesive coating 12. Backing sheet 13 may be a polyester, a polyolefin, or the like, having those releasable properties. The exact shape of the covers 10 and 11 may vary de¬ pending on the hinge that is to be covered. Generally, a door hinge comprises two brass or steel plates 17 provided with passageways to receive a hinge pin 18 which can be removed and which joins the two hinge plates 17 into a pivoting unit. When two hinge plates 17 are joined by a hinge pin 18, the resulting hinge may be opened to present a generally flat inside surface 19 which approximates a square in shape. Dif¬ ferent designs of door hinges generally retain the approxi¬ mate square surface area when open, but may differ in the shapes of the four corners 23 (see FIG. 1) . Corners 23 may vary from sharp right angles to gently rounded to large sweeping arcs. Each design of hinge, of course, requires the inside masking cover 10 to exactly match the shape of the open hinge.

The opposite side of the hinge which protrudes when the door is closed comprises the hinge pin 18 and closely ad¬ joining portions of the hinge plates 17 which encircle hinge pin 18 and form a passageway for receiving hinge pin 18 thereon. All that is needed to cover this back side or out¬ side of the hinge is an elongated rectangular cover 11 that is sufficently wide to curl around hinge pin 18 and cover all exposed portions of the hinge; and be sufficiently long to be punched together at each end. Outside cover 11 must, of course, be made of a precise size to accomplish the task of just covering the exposed hinge, but not extending beyond so as to interfere with the painting or finishing of the adja¬ cent door and door frame.

A second embodiment of this invention is shown in FIG. 2. Here there is shown a roll 14 of an elongated strip 24 of a plurality of pairs of inside cover 10 and outside cover 11. The components of strip 24 are the same as those of sheet 9 in FIG. 1 described above. Strip 24 includes top sheet 9 with adhesive coating 12 stuck to releasable backing sheet 13. Covers 10 and 11 are precut so that the covers 10 and 11 can be peeled away from backing sheet 13 leaving the remainder of top sheet 9 stuck to backing sheet 13. The reason for having a roll 14 of masking covers 10 and 11 is to provide a large number of covers 10 and 11 that can be dispensed one at a time without having to handle separate sheets. If desired roll 14 may be combined with a second roller to roll up the waste portions after removal of covers 10 and 11 and not leave a long tangled strip of waste to be picked up and de¬ posited in a trash barrel.

The usage of covers 10 and 11 is shown in FIGS. 3-6. In FIGS. 3 and 5 there are shown opposite sides of a hinge attached to a door 15 and to an adjacent door frame 16. When door 15 is swung open the inside surface 19 of the hinge will be exposed as in FIG. 3; and when door 15 is closed the out¬ side surface 20 of the hinge will be exposed as in FIG. 5. Cover 10 is intended to be peeled away from backing sheet 10 and pressed against inside surface 19 to cover surface 19 precisely as shown in FIG. 4. Outside cover 11 is peeled away from release sheet 13 and pressed around outside surface 20 of the hinge to cover it precisely as shown in FIG. 6. The adjacent door 15 and door frame 16 can then be painted or varnished without concern as to the surfaces 19 and 20 of the hinge. When the painting or varnishing is completed, covers 10 and 11 are removed leaving hinge surfaces untouched by the paint or varnish.

In the preferred embodiments of this invention cover 10 includes a tab 22 extending upwardly from the middle of the top edge of cover 10. Tab 22 may be wide enough to shield the head of hinge pin 18 if the hinge pin has such a head. Generally, modern hinges do not have a hinge pin with an enlarged head and so that shielding is unnecessary. Tab 22 is provided principally as a finger grip for use in re¬ moving cover 10 from inside surface 19 after the painting or varnishing is completed. Tab 22 need only be of small dim¬ ensions, e.g., about 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch square.

As a corresponding finger grip for cover 11, it is intended that cover 11 be sufficiently long to be pinched together above or below the' limits of hinge pin 18 as shown at 21 of FIG. 6. These pinched portions 21 are not in the way of the painter when finishing the adjacent areas of door 15 and door frame 16; and they provide a finger grip tab which can be used to pull cover 11 away from the hinge. It is, of course, not necessary to have two pinched portions 21 as shown in FIG. 6, since one is sufficient.

While the invention has been described with respect to certain specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that many modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is intended, therefore, by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

• Claims : c

1. A door hinge cover for use in finishing a door with hinges, the cover comprising two cut-out pieces of a flexible cover material having one side of each piece covered with a pressure-sensitive adhesive and adhered to a removable backin sheet, one of said pieces being the inside cover having the size and shape of two adjacent hinge plates joined to a central hinge pin as seen from the open side of an open door and the other of said pieces being an elongated rectangle of sufficient length and width to cover the hinge pin and adja¬ cent cooperating portions of said hinge plates as seen from the side of said door opposite to said open side.

2. The cover of Claim 1 wherein said inside cover includes a tab extending centrally upwardly from said cover sufficient to provide a finger grip thereon to remove said cover from said hinge.

3. The cover of Claim 1 wherein said outside cover is sufficiently longer than said hinge pin to provide a finger grip portion for removing said outside cover from said hinge pin.

4. The cover of Claim 1 wherein said two pieces are on a single flat sheet.

5. The cover of Claim 1 wherein a plurality of said two pieces are embodied on an elongated strip roller into a portable roll for dispensing said two pieces as desired.

6. A door hinge cover for use by a painter in finishing a door assembled to a door frame with a connecting hinge, said cover comprising a pair of precut shapes of paper with a covering of pressure-sensitive adhesive and being adhered to a releasable backing sheet, one of said pair being the inside cover and the other being the outside cover, said inside cover being of a generally square shape to cover precisely the hinge plates, hinge pin, and portions of the hinge plates con¬ necting said plates to said pin, the shape and size of said inside cover being precisely enough to cover all available parts of said hinge plates and hinge pin accessible from the side of said door which reveals the hinge plates when said door is opened away from said door frame; the shape and size of said outside cover being generally that of an elongated rectangle sufficiently long and wide to cover all parts of said hinge pin and associated portions of said hinge plates accessible when said door is closed into said door frame.

7. The cover of Claim 6 wherein said inside cover addi¬ tionally includes a tab extending upwardly and centrally from said cover and adapted to form a finger grip for re¬ moving said cover from said hinge.

8. The cover of Claim 6 wherein said outside cover is sufficiently long to provide a tab portion to be formed by pinching together portions of said outside cover extending beyond a longitudinal end of said hinge pin, said tab portion being adapted to provide a finger grip to remove said outside cover from said hinge. '