Door panel structure
United States Patent Biirgers Apr. 22, 1975 [54] DOOR PANEL STRUCTURE 588.641 5/1947 Unitcd Kingdom 2 49/382 [75] Inventor: August Biirgers.  
  ETkelenl-Gerdemth- Germany Primary ExaminerKenneth Downey [73] Assignee: Europaem SA Luxemburg Attorney, Agent. or F1rmWalter Becker Luxemburg [22] Filed: Oct. 1, 1973 ABSTRACT [2]] Appl. No.: 402.582  
  A door panel structure which includes an inner frame covered toward the outside along the major planes of [30] Forelgn Apphcauon Pmmty the door panel structure by panels which also cover a P 1972 234853 lock pocket on opposite sides of the door panel structure and an adjacent recess for an outer door plate fit- U-S. ting so that the door panel structure can be used for [51} Int. Cl 805d 7/02 l ft d and rightward Opening doors. The inn 1 Field Search 1 frame structure also includes on opposite edges of the 49/504 door panel structure bores for receiving hinge bolts. All of the prebored holes or bores are covered toward Reiefences Cited the outside by cover means that can easily be drilled UNITED STATES PATENTS through at the building lot when it has been decided l,6l0,369 12/1926 Goddard 49/5114 Whether leftward rightward Owning is 3.121.2o3 2/1964 Binncr 49/503 sired- FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS I 6 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure 35.767 l0/l966 Finland 49/5Ul ll 9 t 14 -r1 \l i &#39;10 3 noon PANEL STRUCTURE The present invention relates to a door panel which consists of an inner structure and two thin plywood panels which are connected to the inner structure and form the two lateral surfaces of the door panel.  
  Door panels of the above-mentioned type are produced in the following manner: first. a frame-like inner structure is formed from wood strips. wood bars. or the like. which inner structure is then on both sides confined by thin plywood panels or hard fiber panels. When making such door panels in factories. it is customary to drill those bores on the vertical edge of the door panel which serve for receiving the connecting pins or studs of so-called drill bands (Einbohrbacnder). which form the hinge connection of the door panel to a door frame. At the other vertical rim portion of the door panel. a lock pocket with a recess (Stulpaussparung) is milled out into which a door lock can be inserted with a sheeting (Stulpblech) which comprises the bores for the connecting screws. As a rule. within the region of the lock pocket. also the bores were drilled through the plywood panel and the inner structure through which the handle and the key of the builtin door lock extend or can be passed through. This prefabrication of the heretofore known door panels determines whether the door will be pivotable toward the left or toward the right. and later changes in the door panel for purposes of changing the opening direction of the door are excluded and non-permissible. especially when the door panel is of a natural wood or is finish prevarnished. This means that the door panels required for a building had. with regard to the opening direction and with regard to the required number of pieces. to be pre-determined in advance. and deviation from a prepared assembly plan was not possible. Furthermore, the manufacturer or wholesaler had to keep in stock door panels for left-hand and for right-hand opening of the doors to be installed.  
  it is. therefore. an object of the present invention to provide a door panel which can selectively be used for doors opening toward the left and doors opening toward the right. and which can be economically produced in mass production. can easily be transported to the building lot. and only at the building lot will it be necessary to determine to which side the door finally has to be opened.  
  It is another object of this invention to provide a door panel of the above-mentioned type which will permit reducing the stock keeping costs for door panels by approximately 50%.  
  These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification. in connection with the accompanying drawing. illustrating a horizontal section through a door panel according to the present invention. the upper and lower portions respectively of the drawing being on different levels.  
  The door panel according to the present invention, which comprises an inner structure and two thin plywood panels which are connected to said inner structure and form the two side surfaces of the door panel is characterized primarily in that the inner structure at both vertical marginal portions is provided with a lock pocket and with a prepared recess intended for receiving the sheeting ofa door lock and which recess has inserted and detachably connected therein a dummy which fills in the recess and covers the lock pocket. The door panel according to the invention is furthermore characterized in that the surface of the stepped area (Falzflache) of the door panel is provided with a sur face layer which covers up the dummy so as to hide the latter. while preferably the inner structure is at both lock pockets provided with handle and keyhole bores covered by the plywood panels.  
  Referring now to the drawing in detail. the door panel according to the present invention illustrated in the drawing includes an inner structure which comprises strips. or the like. that extend in the manner of a frame along the marginal areas of the door panel. The drawing shows the two vertical ties or bars 1 and 2 at the left-hand and right-hand marginal areas of the door panel. In finished condition ofthe door panel. this inner structure is. on both sides. covered by relatively thin panels 3 and 4 of plywood. hard fiber. or the like. so that the door panel represents a kind of hollow body. In conformity with the present invention. the two marginal areas or ties l and 2 of the door panel are provided with a lock pocket 5 for receiving a customary door lock. The drawing shows two horizontal sections through the door panel at different height so that only the lock pocket 5 is illustrated at one marginal portion of the door panel. Furthermore. both ties l and 2 are provided with a recess 6 which serves for receiving the customary sheeting of a door lock which contains the bores for the connecting screws. Inserted into each recess 6 is a dummy 7 which fills in said recess 6 and covers up the lock pocket 5. The dummy 7 is detachably connected in the recess 6. Preferably. the dummy 7 is provided at the same area as the sheeting of a door lock with connecting bores and by means of screws is connected in the recess 6 so that the same connecting screws and screw holes can be used for the installation of a door lock. The folded surface 8 of the door panel is provided with a surface cover 9, for instance. in the form ofa synthetic strip or in the form of a veneer strip. which covers the dummy 7 at both marginal areas of the door panel and makes the dummy 7 completely invisible. Prior to confining the door panel by the two plywood sheets. both ties l and 2 are expediently from the start provided with bores 10 which are needed in order to be able to introduce the door handle and also a wrench to the built-in door lock. Also these prefabricated bores 10 are made invisible by the subsequently assembled panels 3 and 4. Both marginal areas or ties l and 2 of the door panel are additionally provided with prefabricated bores 11 which serve for receiving the drill bands forming the hinge between the door panel and a door frame. These bore holes II are likewise covered at the two marginal areas of the door panel by the surface layer 9 and are made invisible. In conformity with the desired opening direction of the door. it should be noted that when assembling the door panel at one marginal area. that portion of the cover 9 which covers the dummy 7 is cut out. for instance. by means of a knife and the dummy is pulled out of the recess 6, whereupon the door lock is inserted. Within the region of the prefabricated handle. bores and keyholes 10. it is merely necessary while employing a drilling templet to drill through the two thin panels 3 and 4. At the other rim of the door panel it is merely necessary to pierce or drill through the cover 9 in order to expose the necessary drilling bores ll.  
  As will be evident from the above. the present invention permits the manufacture of a single standard design of the door panel which standard design can be used for a door opening toward the left as well as for a door opening toward the right and can be so mounted that only this one standard design has to be kept in stock while the recesses or drilled holes provided at both marginal areas for the installation of a lock and preferably also for the installation of drilling bands will be invisible. This is of importance for finish prevarnished door panels or for door panels made up of natural wood. Moreover, the present invention makes it possible with a few quick and simple manual operations to expose said recesses for installation of a lock or the drill bands. so that the installation ofthe door panel can be carried out in a minimum of assembly time.  
  lt is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is by no means limited to the specific showing in the drawing. but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.  
 What I claim is:  
  l. A panel structure which includes an inner frame structure that in upright position of the door panel structure has two substantially vertical beams arranged in horizontally spaced relationship to each other, two cover panels respectively mounted outside on opposite sides of said vertical beams and fully covering up the outer sides of said vertical beams and the space con fined thereby, each of said vertical beams being provided with a horizontally extending lock pocket extending in a direction substantially parallel to said cover panels and at an at least approximately right angle to the longitudinal direction of said beams in upright position of said door panel structure, each side of said inner frame structure also comprising a recess provided at r the outer end of said lock pocket and wider than the latter and adapted to receive an outer plate fitting provided with screw holes and adapted to cover up the respective adjacent entrance to said lock pocket, a dummy plate detachably inserted into said recess and substantially filling in the space thereof, and cover means covering said dummy plate up toward the outside of said door panel structure. said vertical beams each near said lock pocket being provided with a bore extending in a direction transverse to the major plane of said cover panels for receiving handle elements and key parts, said transverse bore being covered toward the outside by said cover panels, said dummy plates being provided with screw holes, and screw means extending through said screw holes into said beams for detachably connecting said dummy plates to said beams, said screw holes having their axes located substantially where the axes of the screw holes of the outer plate fitting will be located when taking the place of the respective dummy plate.  
  2. A door panel structure according to claim 1, in which in upright position of the door panel structure the two substantially vertical beams near their vertical edges are provided with pre-bored holes for receiving threaded hinge bolts, said last mentioned holes being closed toward the outside of said door panel structure.  
  3. A door panel, in which both vertical side edges of said door panel comprise a horizontally extending lock pocket adapted to receive a door lock and also comprise a recess provided at the outer end of said lock pocket and wider than the latter and adapted to receive an outer mounting plate of a door lock, a dummy plate corresponding in its dimensions substantially to the di mensions of said recess and covering the adjacent entrance to said lock pocket, and coating means forming the finished surface layer of said both side edges of said door panel and covering up said dummy plate in a not visible manner toward the outside of said door panel.  
  4. A door panel, in which both vertical side edges of said door panel comprise a horizontally extending lock pocket adapted to receive a door lock and also comprise a recess provided at the outer end of said lock pocket and wider than the latter and adapted to receive an outer mounting plate ofa door lock, a dummy plate corresponding in its dimensions substantially to the dimensions of said recess and covering the adjacent entrance to said lock pocket, and coating means forming the finished surface layer of said both side edges of said door panel and covering up said dummy plate in a not visible manner toward the outside of said door panel, said door panel being at said both side edges provided with prebored holes for receiving hinge bolts. said prebored holes being closed toward the outside of said door panel by said coating means.  
  5. A door panel, in which both vertical side edges of said door panel comprise a horizontally extending lock pocket adapted to receive a door lock and also comprise a recess provided at the outer end of said lock pocket and wider than the latter and adapted to receive an outer mounting plate ofa door lock with connecting holes for screw means, said recess being provided with holes, the axes of said holes corresponding to the axes of said connecting holes in said mounting plate. a dummy plate corresponding in its dimensions substantially to the dimensions of said recess and inserted into said recess and covering the adjacent entrance to said lock pocket, said dummy plate being provided with means for engagement into said holes of said recess and for detachably holding said dummy plate in said recess, and coating means forming the finished surface layer of said both side edges of said door panel and covering up said dummy plate in a not visible manner toward the outside of said door panel said door panel being at said both side edges provided with pre-bored holes for receiving hinge bolts, said pre-bored holes being closed toward the outside of said door panel by said coating means.  
  6. A door panel which includes an inner frame structure that in upright position of the door panel has two substantially vertical beams arranged in horizontally spaced relationship to each other, two cover panels respectively mounted outside on opposite sides of said vertical beams and fully covering up the outer sides of said vertical beams and the space confined thereby, said door panel comprising at both vertical side edges of said door panel a horizontally extending lock pocket adapted to receive a door lock and also comprising a recess provided at the outer end of said lock pocket and wider than the latter and adapted to receive an outer mounting plate of a door lock, a dummy plate corresponding in its dimensions substantially to the dimensions of said recess and detachably inserted into said recess and covering the adjacent entrance to said lock pocket. and coating means forming the finished surface layer of said both side edges of said door panel and covering up said dummy plate in a not visible manner toward the outside of said door panel, said door panel being at said both side edges provided with prebored holes for receiving hinge bolts, said pre-bored 6 ceiving handle elements and key parts. said transverse bores being covered toward the outside by said cover panels.