NZ333832A - Nail plate type connector for making right-angled joints - Google Patents

Abstract

A connector (100) comprising a bent sheet of a durable material capable of receiving nails or other fixing means. The connector having a shape that provides two nailable plates (102, 101) adjoining at a fold (103), a first flat nailable area upon the first plate (102) and a second flat nailable area upon the second plate (101). The second nailable plate being extended beyond the length of the fold (103) so that the extended part of the second plate is not connected to the first plate, the second nailable area being at least on the extended part of the second plate, so that in use attachments can be made between different members.

Description

Patents Form # 5 NEW ZEALAND Patents Act 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION AFTER PROVISIONAL # 333832 DATED : 21 January 1999 TITLE : A Connector I, William Grant Brown Address: 63 Roberts Road, Te Atatu South, Auckland 8, New Zealand Nationality: A New Zealand citizen/company do hereby declare the invention for which I pray that a patent may be grantedto -m£=andJ:he=j, method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly describeJ^^^^Q^^Hll^^ng" statement. 2 6 APR 2C00 RECEIVED PF05 JWP FEE CODE 1050 2- A Connector TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a connector for use in construction, particularly to connectors in the form of shaped plates useful for attaching one structural element to a second structural 5 element within the framework of a building, and in particular where at least one structural element is capable of being nailed through the shaped plate.

BACKGROUND When a builder connects two wooden members, the most common fastener used is a nail, 10 transfixing one piece and running at least partly though a second piece. In situations where the second piece is not nailable (it may be steel, for example) the fastener can be a screw, bolt, shot fire pm, pop rivet, a weld, or some other form of fastener. There are many situations in which a simple nail (or even many nails or screws) is not a suitable fastening device for joining one beam to another. One of these is where large beams such as the 15 bearers and joists under a floor are to be joined together, or where bearers are to be joined to an upright post forming part of a foundation. In this specification the term "join" refers to a fastening that has adequate strength and resilience to maintain its integrity under defined loading extremes such as those resulting from repeated shaking by earthquakes or wind; such extremes are significantly greater than static loads.

Use of simple nails in such situations has a number of drawbacks: the physical size of each nail exceeds reasonable hammering capability, an "end-to-side" joint may be weak owning to grain-based splitting or a tendency to split, and the direction from which a nail could be driven may be inaccessible especially after further elements of the building are placed F2 !3qCAP 200 CW/jq 33J832 adjacent to the fastened joint. Glues have not been a satisfactory alternative. For example they provide attachment between the skins or outer surfaces of the members only.

Other fasteners such as bolts and nail plates have been developed in order to overcome these drawbacks, but to date none have been entirely suitable for some critical applications such as 5 where a bearer is joined to an upright post forming part of a foundation.

Prior art connectors are generally made in a form that provides a "U" shape to run beneath, and partially surround a bearer. These can be used only with bearers of a matching width. Other prior art connectors have shapes that require that there shall be an extension of the bearer beyond the pile, so that nails can be reliably placed into the bearer. This may adversely 10 affect the design or appearance of a building.

OBJECT It is an object of this invention to provide a connector which will obviate or minimise the foregoing disadvantages or what at least will provide the public with a useful choice.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION In a first aspect the invention provides a connector comprising a bent sheet of a durable material capable of receiving nails or other fixing means, the connector having a shape that provides two nailable plates adjoining at a fold, a first substantially flat nailable area upon 20 the first plate and a second substantially flat nailable area upon the second plate; the second nailable plate being extended beyond the length of the fold so that the extended part of the second plate is not connected to the first plate, the second nailable area being at least on the extended part of the second plate, so that in use attachments can be made between different members.

Preferably the fold comprises substantially a 90 degree fold, so that the first surface and the second surface are mutually perpendicular.

Preferably the second plate has the shape of a truncated triangle. 00F213qpsp 001 CW/jq intellectual property office of n.z. 1 7 OCT 2001 RECEIVED Preferably one or both of the nail areas comprises apertures in the plate.

Preferably the apertures are situated in a staggered or random pattern.

Preferably the connector is constructed of galvanised steel, and preferably the steel is from 1 to 5 mm thick.

More preferably the steel is from 1.6 to 3 mm thick.

Alternatively at least part of either or both of the first and second plates may be constructed so as to include a number of protruding spikes capable of penetrating a timber beam.

Preferably a third nailable plate may be provided, the third nailable plate projecting at an angle from the first plate and carrying a third nailable area.

Preferably the tag projects in the direction of the second nailable plate.

Alternatively it projects away from the second nailable plate.

In a further aspect the invention includes a method for making a connector of the type previously described; the method including the steps of selecting a strip of a suitable metal material, perforating the strip so as to form an array of apertures at a free end, then of cutting 15 off each connector as a pair, cutting the pair into two separate connectors, and then of folding each connector.

Preferably the cutting and perforating actions are carried out by a die within a press.

Alternatively the cutting and stamping operations may be carried out by a cutting means driven in two dimensions relative to the strip by a motorised table.

Preferably each connector is treated to minimise corrosion.

In a still further aspect the invention consists in a method of inspection of an installed connector of this type includes the steps of verifying that the connector is substantially undistorted, that sufficient fasteners have been employed, and that the two structural elements are in contact.

F213qCAP 200 CW/jq To those skilled m the art to which the invention relates^ many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest themselves without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the description herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any 5 sense limiting.

DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES The preferred embodiments to be described and illustrated in this specification are provided purely by way of example and are in no way intended to be limiting as to the spirit or the 10 scope of the invention.

Fig 1. shows a perspective view of a connector according to one preferred form of the invention.

Figs 2 and 3: show perspective views of similar connectors according to preferred forms of the invention.

Fig 4- shows aspects of a connector according to the invention, joining a pile to a bearer Fig 5" shows a short bracing pile and a bearer and two joists, with connectors according to the invention linking the pile to the bearer and the bearer to the joists.

Fig 6- shows the fixing of double joists to the bearer Fig 7- illustrates a cantilevered bearer at the end of a building, and a portion of a floor upon 20 joists.

Fig 8: shows use of the connectors of the invention with steel bearers and joists, and a brace.

Fig 9. shows a method for manufacture of the connectors of the invention from a strip of material, with minimal waste.

F2 IJiqCAP 200 CW/|q Fig 10 shows a connector as for Fig 4, but adapted for use in a situation where the building is built hard against a boundary line.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment 100 of the connector is illustrated in Fig 1, where 102 is an edge of a first plate and 101 is an edge of a second plate; 103 is a fold line, and 104 is an example of an aperture for receiving a nail or the like. Note that the apertures are preferably staggered so that (assuming a straight piece of timber) a series of nails should not penetrate along the same line of grain and thereby tend to split the timber. A preferred material for use in the 10 connector is 2.5 mm thick galvanised steel although there may be some advantages in using stainless steel or some other material; perhaps even unprotected steel which is preferably painted with a bitumen-based paint at the time of construction and use. The plate 101 extends beyond the full extent of the fold line 103.

By way of examples of typical dimensions, the rectangular first plate (edge 102) typically 15 extends out about 75 mm from the fold line 3 and is about 100 mm along the fold line 3; the fold line 3 plus the cut edge is about 200 mm long, and the long edge 101 of the second plate is about 100 mm in length The short edge is 20 mm long. Of course, these example dimensions are m no way limiting as to the scope of the invention.

The second plate 101 is preferably in the shape of a truncated triangle (although a right 20 triangle can also be provided), and the first plate is preferably a rectangle although, as a person skilled in the art can determine, other shapes based on the fold line 103 and presenting an area through which nails (or the like) can be driven will serve as well. Figs 2 and 3 shows connectors having an optional third plate 201/301 in left-hand and right-hand versions, which may be used to assist with frictional bonding between a pile and a bearer, or 25 a bearer and a joist, to further secure the connector in another plane, or which may be bent straight and used against the same surface as plane 102. Typically such a plate 201/301 might be 40 mm long m a practical version. (The absence of nail holes at 302 - Fig 3 illustrates an optional form of connector).

F2 IjqCAP 200 CW/jq It can be seen that a single securely attached connector 100 of this type (as shown in Fig 4) will be able to hold a bearer 402 onto a pile 401. The apertures in Fig 4a are (for the sake of the diagram) partly occupied by nail heads 403 (see also 403 and 405 in Fig 4b). Preferably, all nailable apertures are filled by nails. It can be seen that little movement is possible when 5 this connector is provided. Perhaps the most likely kind of inadvertent flexion that may subsequently occur is one involving rotation of the bearer 402 about its axis in an anticlockwise direction, when the connector may bend outward. If the bearer is rotated anticlockwise about the axis of the pile the connector may tend to unfold. Hence we prefer to use two connectors, (the second one would be more or less symmetrically placed behind the 10 illustration of fig 4 -see Fig 4b, a section through Fig 4a at A—A where the visible connector in Fig 4a is 100 and the other, invisible one is shown here as 100') to overcome such problems. Building codes of practice may be developed which instead rely on connectors at other pile/bearer connections along a bearer in order to supplement the security of any one pile/bearer connection having a single connector. It may be optimal in terms of 15 nail damage, cost and time to provide relatively sturdy connectors and relatively few of them for a given type of building. (See also Fig 10, dealing with the situation where a building is constructed up against a boundary line).

In Fig 4c, we prefer that there be at least four nails 405 transfixing each connector leg and passing into each side of the 100 x 75 mm bearer. Preferably, all available nail holes are 20 filled We prefer that the back faces of the connectors m contact with the timber pile be painted with a heavy bituminous paint.

One advantage of this type of connector is that all nails (or other fasteners) are driven in approximately horizontally, which is convenient for installation and for inspection especially when the bearer is close to the ground and a hammer cannot be swung in any other than a 25 horizontal plane. Another advantage is that the width across the bearer is not critical, and (unlike prior art channel-type connectors which may have to be forced onto different thicknesses of bearer) there should be no distortion imposed on this type of connector during installation, which would tend to destroy anti-corrosion coverings and weaken the material of the connector.

F2 !3qCAP 200 CW/jq At the present time, a mirror image version of the connector without the third plate is not considered to be necessary, but can be manufactured simply by folding the plates about the fold line in the opposite direction.

Figures 5 to 8 show further applications of the invention to common fastening problems 5 within the building industry. In Fig 5, the assembly 500 illustrates a short bracing pile 501. This pile supports a 100 x 75 mm bearer and is attached to the bearer by two connectors according to the invention, 503 and 504. Two joists, 505 and 506, are attached to the bearer 502 by means of connectors 507 and 508. In Fig 6, an arrangement 600 for fixing double joists 601 (well nailed together) to a bearer 602 is shown, the fixing being by means of 10 connectors 603 and 604. Again, we prefer at least four nails in each leg of the connectors.

Fig 7 shows at 700 a cantilevered bearer at one end of a building. Connectors according to the invention are suitable for use in cantilevered constructions. Here a pile 701 supports a bearer 702, and the bearer supports joists 703 and double joists 704 (at the end of the building). A portion of a particle board floor is shown at 705. Preferably, the bearer is 15 cantilevered over the pile 701 by a minimum of 130 mm and a maximum of 200 mm, for the type "PB2" connectors of our invention, although these dimensions are of course subject to a number of variables such as preferred connector dimensions. Items 708, 709, 710 and 711 are connectors Beam 706 is part of a floor plate, and 707 is part of a stud, of a wall.

Fig 8 shows the use of connectors according to the invention in combination with a tall 20 bracing pile 801 and a bracing member 806. The connectors (802 and 803) are attached to the top of the pile, and are preferably screwed, bolted, or possibly pop-riveted to the metal bearer 804 (comprised of two box-section tubular steel beams welded together). Floor joists 805 are welded to the bearer. This illustration includes a concrete foundation pad 807 buried within a back-filled hole 808. The bracing member 806 is attached securely to the bearer 804 25 thereby forming a structure resistant to sideways tilting in the direction of the arrow at top left.

Of course there are many other instances within a building where a connector of this type can be used safely and without degrading the strength of the structure.

F213qCAP 200 CW/|q Fig 9 shows how connectors of this type can be made in "quantity by stamping then folding a flat sheet of metal 900 with minimal or no wastage (assuming a strip of raw material having the same width as the height of the connector). Manufacture comprises the formation of apertures and then the separation of connectors, folding the connectors to provide the two (or 5 three) plates described, and finally providing an optional anti-corrosion treatment such as dipping m molten zinc The connector outlines 901, 902 form complementary pairs. The pairs 903, 904 have had nail/fastener holes made through them, and 905 indicates a fold line to be followed in a subsequent folding operation. Our test samples were made by laser cutting, although any other known fabrication technique such as water jet cutting or pressing 10 in a die would suffice. Pressing may also allow the construction of "built-in nails" by first cutting around two long edges and one short edge a strip at each point intended to become a fastening point, and then bending the free end inward, as is well known in the art.

Fig 10 shows a bearer 402 attached to a pile 401a in a situation wherein for some reason the building had to be constructed right against a boundary line (which is hard against the cut end 15 of the joist at 402) and no cantilever (as shown in Fig 4a) is permissible. In this instance we also introduce a second connector 1001 behind the join, and shown as a dotted outline. Prior-art products commonly used to join bearers to joists do require cantilevering. In Fig 10 we have also filled all holes with nails.

ADVANTAGES It can be seen that one simple type of connector has multiple applications, and accordingly the stocks of connectors required to be held are reduced over situations wherein multiple kinds of connector are required.

The actual insertion of fasteners (nails) by hammering or use of a nail gun is facilitated in situations having little vertical space to swing a hammer.

F213qCAP200 CW/|q OPTIONS A connector of this type may instead be constructed from a "blank" sheet of a durable material having one or more surfaces without apertures. (The surface 302 in Fig 3 is an illustration of this). Such a connector would be capable of being penetrated by aperture-5 forming means compatible with a perhaps associated fastening means, the connector having a shape as previously described m this section. This version is particularly intended for use with "Ramset" fasteners or the like, which make their own holes. Another variation is to provide nail holes in some panels but not all of them.

A scaled down connector though having much the same configuration may be used in construction of roofing supports, joining timber beams to overlaid timber beams running (usually) perpendicular to each other Here, an advantage is that improved security in terms of withstanding unexpected loading such as from strong winds and tornadoes, or earthquakes or snow is provided It is not commonly realised that a wetted concrete tile roof may weigh up to 10 tonnes and the vibrations caused by an earthquake may over-load components supporting that type of roof.

Finally, it will be appreciated that various alterations and modifications may be made to the foregoing without departing from the scope of this invention as set forth.

F213qCAP 200 CW/|q

Claims (18)

-11 - WHAT I CLAIM IS: 3

1. A connector comprising a bent sheet of a durable material capable of receiving nails or other fixing means, the connector having a shape that provides two nailable plates adjoining at a fold, a first substantially flat nailable area upon the first plate and a second extended beyond the length of the fold so that the extended part of the second plate is not connected to the first plate, the second nailable area being at least on the extended part of the second plate, so that in use attachments can be made between different members. 10

2. A connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fold comprises substantially a 90 degree fold, so that the first surface and the second surface are mutually perpendicular.

3. A connector as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the second plate has the shape of a truncated triangle.

4. A connector as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the second plate has the shape of a 15 right-angled triangle.

5. A connector as claimed m any one of the preceding claims wherein one or both of the nail areas comprises apertures in the plate.

6. A connector as claimed in claim 5 wherein the apertures are situated in a staggered or random pattern. 20

7. A connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the connector is constructed of galvanised steel, and preferably the steel is from 1 to 5 mm thick.

8. A connector as claimed in claim 7 wherein the steel is from 1.6 to 3 mm thick.

9. A connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein at least part of either or both of the first and second plates are constructed so as to include a number of 25 protruding spikes capable of penetrating a timber beam.

10. A connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a third nailable plate may be provided, the third nailable plate projecting at an angle from the first plate and carrying a third nailable area. — 5 substantially flat nailable area upon the second plate; the second nailable plate being intellectual property OFFICE OF N Z. 00F213qpsp OOl CW/jq 1 7 OCT 2001 RECEIVED -12 " w

11 A connector as claimed m claim 10 wherein the third nailable plate projects away from the second nailable plate

12 A connector substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings 5

13 A method for making a connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the method includes the steps of selecting a strip of a suitable metal material, perforating the strip so as to form an array of apertures at a free end, cutting off each connector as a pair, cutting the pair into two separate connectors, and of folding each connector

14 A method as claimed m claim 13 wherein the steps of cutting and perforating are carried 10 out by a die within a press.

15 A method as claimed m claim 13 wherein the cutting and perforating operations are carried out by a cutting means driven in two dimensions relative to the strip by a motorised table.

16 A method as claimed m any one of claims 13 to 15 wherein each connector is treated to 15 minimise corrosion [

17 A method as claimed m claim 13 and substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings

18. A method of inspection of an installed connector as claimed m any one of claims 1 to 12 including the steps of verifying that the connector is substantially undistorted, that 20 sufficient fasteners have been employed, and that the two structural elements are m contact. Attorneys for: END OF CLAIMS Wi"iam Grantbrown