Pre-hung door assembly installation kit

#The present invention relates generally to pre-hung doors and, in particular, to a kit for installing a pre-hung residential door assembly that allows for improved, easier installation of a pre-hung door assembly adjacent an opening in a residential wall.

#A typical pre-hung residential door assembly includes a substantially rectangular door frame having a preferably wood door hingedly attached thereto. The door assembly is configured for attachment to walls of a rough opening formed in a residential wall, for example in a house, a garage, or the like. These pre-hung door assemblies are advantageous in that the frame and the door are pre-aligned, requiring only the frame to be attached and aligned to the rough opening and eliminating the step of aligning the orienting the door to the frame.

#The following U.S. patents and published patent application are relevant to pre-hung door assemblies and/or installation of pre-hung doors, the U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,919,798, 3,301,820, 3,411,240, 3,473,265, 3,584,416, 3,599,373, 4,718,195, 4,739,561, 5,159,782, 5,365,697, 5,655,332, 6,170,198, 6,725,604, and the U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0060241.

#The above, as well as other advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings in which:

#FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a kit in accordance with the present invention shown attached to a pre-hung door assembly;

#FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the lock area of the door shown in FIG. 1;

#Referring now to FIG. 1, a pre-hung door installation kit in accordance with the present invention is indicated generally at 10. The kit 10 includes at least one and preferably a plurality of generally F-shaped door frame brackets 12, at least one and preferably a plurality of door brackets 14, and at least one lockset bracket 16.

#The brackets 12, 14, wad 16 of the kit 10 are adapted to be attached at various locations on a pre-hung door assembly 18, best seen in FIG. 1 and discussed in more detail below. The door assembly 18 includes a substantially rectangular door frame 20 having a preferably wood door 22 hingedly attached thereto. The door assembly 18 is configured for attachment to surfaces 24 of a rough opening 26 formed in a residential building wall 28, for example in a house, a garage, or the like. The wall 28 may be an interior wall or an exterior wall and the door assembly 18 may be configured as an interior door (with a typically wood door 22) or an exterior door (with a typically steel door), as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The door 22 includes a lockset hole 30, best seen in FIG. 2, formed in a side edge surface thereof Surrounding the lockset hole 30 is a generally rectangular latch plate recess 31 having a bottom surface 31a positioned inwardly (recessed) from the side edge surface of the door 22. The lockset hole 30 also includes a cylindrical portion 30a that extends from the bottom surface 31a to a door knob hole 32 formed through front and rear surfaces of the door 22.

#Referring now to FIGS. 3-4, the kit 10 includes at least one and preferably a plurality of the generally F-shaped door frame brackets 12. The door frame brackets 12 include a base 34 and a pair of arms 36 extending from the base 34 that are spaced apart by a predetermined distance, indicated by an arrow 38. The predetermined distance 38 is preferably sized to provide a snug fit for the door frame bracket 12 against the frame 20 of the door assembly 18, discussed in more detail below. The base 34 defines an elongated hole or slot 40 extending through upper and lower surfaces thereof. The hole 40 is sized to accept a fastener (not shown) or the like when the kit 10 is used to attach the door assembly 18 to the surfaces 24 of the rough opening 26. The base 34 may also define an aperture 41 in a portion of the base 34 between the arms 36 for receiving a fastener or the like.