AU2002313378B2

AU2002313378B2 - Building frame member and brace

Info

Publication number: AU2002313378B2
Application number: AU2002313378A
Authority: AU
Inventors: John Tadich
Original assignee: Mitek Holdings Inc
Current assignee: Mitek Holdings Inc
Priority date: 2002-01-07
Filing date: 2002-12-04
Publication date: 2007-03-15
Anticipated expiration: 2022-12-04

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): MITEK HOLDINGS, INC.

Invention Title: BUILDING FRAME MEMBER AND BRACE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 2 BUILDING FRAME MEMBER AND BRACE Field of the Invention This invention relates to a building frame member and, in particular, but not exclusively, to a building frame member in the form of a building truss having a bottom cord, and at least one upper cord. The invention also relates to a brace for the building frame member.

Background of the Invention Roof trusses are normally installed in a building by locating the individual trusses on top plates of wall frames. In order to secure the trusses in an upright position, it is conventional for a builder to use bracing such as pieces of wood and the like which are nailed to the trusses to hold the trusses upright until permanent bracing and battens are located in place to secure the trusses in position. Such bracing may extend between two adjacent trusses, and this generally involves a carpenter locating the bracing whilst attempting to hold the truss steady in a vertical position, and then nailing the bracing to the trusses. This can be very difficult, and therefore dangerous, for a single carpenter to perform and, if performed by a number of carpenters, is obviously labour intensive.

Summary of the Invention The object of the present invention is to provide a building frame member which overcomes this problem.

The invention may be said to reside in a building frame member comprising: at least one frame element; a brace; pivotal coupling means for connecting the brace to the frame element so the brace can swing from a position parallel to the frame element, to a position H:\Luisa\Kee\Speci\Mitek Prov-Building Prame Member Brace.doc 7/11/03 -3transverse with respect to the frame element; a connector portion on the brace spaced from the pivotal coupling means; a hook on the connection portion; and wherein, when the frame member is located in position, the brace is swingable from a position parallel to the frame element to a position transverse to the frame element so that the connector portion can engage a second frame member spaced from the said frame member by the hook hooking over the second frame member to thereby provide a temporary brace for the said frame member and to correctly space the first frame member from the second frame member.

According to the present invention, because the brace is permanently connected to the frame element by the pivotal connection, the brace is conveniently located and it is not necessary to search for a suitable piece of bracing material, or a completely separate brace, when it is necessary to brace the frame members when installed in a building structure. Furthermore, the fact that the brace need only be swung from the position parallel to the building element to a position transverse to the building element, means that the brace can be easily located in a bracing position to join with the second frame member.

The connection portion on the brace also facilitates relatively easy coupling of the connection portion to the second frame member. Thus, the temporary bracing is much more easily and safely provided, particularly in situations where the frame member is to be installed above ground level, such as in a roof of a building.

Furthermore, the brace also acts to correctly space the first frame member from the second frame member, so that the frame members are more easily spaced relative to one another in the building construction.

Preferably the brace has an angle section having a first wall, and a second wall transverse to the first wall.

\\melb-fies\homeS\Lisa\Keep\Speci\Mitek Prov-Building Frame Member Bracedoc 4/12/02 4 Preferably the connector portion includes a connecting plate integral with the first wall.

Preferably the connecting plate has a plurality of punched teeth, punched from the plate, and an end flange extending transverse with respect to the plate, the flange having a length which is longer than the punched teeth.

Preferably the second wall has an inner edge which, when the brace is swung to the transverse position, abuts against a face of the element so that load applied to the brace is transmitted to the frame element, at least partly from the said inner end edge of the second wall, and locates the brace substantially at right angles to the element.

Preferably the pivotal coupling means comprises a coupling plate formed integral with the brace and a nail passing through the coupling plate and penetrating the frame element.

The invention may also be said to reside in a building frame member comprising: at least one frame element; a brace; pivotal coupling means for connecting the brace to the frame element so the brace can swing from a position parallel to the frame element, to a prescribed position transverse with respect to the frame element, to enable the brace to be connected to a second frame member and facilitate correct spacing of the frame member and second frame member; and an abutment portion on the brace for abutting the frame element when the brace has been swung to the prescribed transverse position and preventing further swinging movement of the brace beyond that position to H:\Luisa\Keep\Speci\Mitek Prov-Building Frame Member Brace.doc 7/11/03 5 thereby position the brace at the prescribed transverse position with respect to the frame element.

Preferably the abutment comprises an end edge portion of a wall of the brace and the distance between the location of the pivotal coupling means and the edge being such that, upon swinging movement of the brace from the parallel position to the transverse position, the edge will contact the frame element when the brace reaches the prescribed transverse position, thereby preventing further swinging movement of the brace to position the brace at the prescribed transverse position.

Preferably the prescribed transverse position is a position of the brace perpendicular to the frame element.

Preferably the brace has an angle section having a first wall and a second wall transverse to the first wall, the second wall being the wall which has the end edge which forms the abutment portion.

Preferably the brace has a connector portion spaced from the pivotal coupling means, the connector portion including a connecting plate integral with the first wall.

Preferably the connecting plate includes a flange extending transverse to the connecting plate to form a hook with the connecting plate for locating over the second frame member to thereby locate the brace in position on the second frame member and correctly space the first and second frame members apart from one another.

Preferably the pivotal coupling means comprises a coupling plate and a nail extending through the coupling plate for penetrating the first frame member for pivotally coupling the brace to the first frame member.

\\melb-files\ho.e$\LUisa\Keep\Speci\Mitek Prov-Building Frame Member 5race.doc 4/12/02 6 Preferably the brace has an angle section extending between the first and second connection portions, the angle section having a first wall which is integral with the first and second connection portions, and a second wall transverse to the first wall.

Preferably the second wall includes a spacer element adjacent the connecting plate which is divided from the second wall by a cut, the distance between the flange and an outermost end edge of the spacer element defining a first space for receiving a frame element of the second frame member of a first thickness, and the spacer element being bendable relative to the second wall so that the distance between the flange and the outermost edge of the second wall defines a second spacing for receiving a frame element of the second frame member of a second thickness greater than the first thickness.

Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a frame element of a frame member embodying the invention; Figure 2 is a view of the frame element of Figure 1 in a second operational position; Figure 3 shows the frame element of Figure 2 coupling to an adjacent separate frame element; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a brace used in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3; Figure 5 is a side view of a connecting portion of the brace of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a broken perspective view of the brace of Figure 4 showing the ends of the brace of Figure 4; Figure 7 is a view of a frame member embodying the invention; and \\melb_files\homeS\Luisa\Keep\Speci\Mitek Prov-Building Frame Member Brace.doc 4/12/02 7 Figure 8 is a side view of a plurality of the frame members of Figure 7 installed in a building.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment With reference to Figure 1, an oblique cord 10 of a roof truss 12 (see Figure 7) is shown. As best shown in Figure 7, the roof truss 12 has a bottom cord 14, the first oblique cord 10 and a second oblique cord 16. Typically, the truss will include webs (not shown) connected between the upper cords 10 and 16 and the bottom cord 14. Truss configurations of this type are well known and therefore will not be described in any further detail.

As is also well known, a plurality of the trusses 12 extend between top plates 20 of a building frame to form the roof of the building.

As best shown in Figure 4, the cord 10 has attached to it a brace 30 which will form a temporary bracing extending between two frame members to support the frame members in position until permanent bracing is attached to the frame elements, and also to facilitate correct spacing of the trusses 12, 12' (see Figure 8) apart from one another. In other embodiments (not shown), the brace 30 could be pivotally connected to one of the webs (not shown) which extend between the top cords 10 and 16 and the bottom cord 14. The brace 30 is more clearly shown in Figure 4 and includes an angle section 32 which has a first wall 34 and a second wall 36 which is arranged perpendicular to the first wall 34. The first wall 34 has, at one end, an integral pivotal coupling plate 38 in the form of a generally square plate. The first wall 34 has a connecting plate 39 at its other end, which is also in the form of a generally square plate. The plate 39 has a down-turned flange 40. The transition between the plate 39 and flange 40, which may simply be a bend in the plate 39 so as to form the flange 40, is provided with melbfiles\hoe$\ Lisa\ eep\Speci\Mitek ov-Building Frame Member Brace.doc 4/12/02 8 reinforcing ridges 41 to strengthen the flange 40. The reinforcing ridges 41 are pressed into the brace 30 when the brace 30 is formed.

The plate 39 has a plurality of punched teeth 44 punched from the plate 39 and extending in the same direction as the flange 40. As is clearly shown in Figure 5, the teeth 44 are shorter than the flange 40. In other words, the flange 40 extends beyond the tip of the teeth 44, the reason for which will be described hereinafter.

The coupling plate 38 has a hole 45 which receives a nail 46 (see Figure 6) so as to pivotally connect the brace to upper surface 10a of the cord 10. The hole 45 may be formed before the nail 46 is hammered in place, or can be formed by simply hammering the nail 46 through the plate 38. The coupling plate 38 is in the form of a flat plate which locates flush on the upper face 10a of the cord so that the plate 38 can easily pivot on the upper face The nail 46 is inserted part of the way into the face so the brace 30 can pivot on the nail 46 from the position shown in Figure 1 in which it is parallel with the cord 10, to the position shown in Figure 2 in which the brace extends transverse, and preferably perpendicular, to the cord 10. The nail 46 is hammered only part way into the face 10a so as to correctly locate the nail and therefore the brace 30 relative to the cord 10, as will be described in more detail hereinafter. If the nail is hammered all of the way into the brace, pivotal movement would still be possible, but the possibility of the nail being skewed or causing some slight misalignment of the intended position of the brace 30 on the cord 10 may occur.

When the brace 30 is in the position shown in Figure 1, \\melb.files\home$ \Luisa\Keep\Speci \Mi ek Prov-Building Frame Member Bracedoc 4/12/02 9 the second side wall 36 abuts vertical face 10b of the cord 10 and the brace 30 sits slightly upwardly with the flange 40 resting on face 10a. The location of the second side wall 36 against the face 10b of the cord 10 therefore facilitates location of the brace in the parallel position shown in Figure 1. The brace 30 generally sits in the parallel position shown in Figure 1 because the trusses shown in Figure 7 are stacked on their side, and therefore the brace 30 rests on the face 10a under its own weight.

The second side wall 36 has an inner end edge 50 and an outer end edge 52. The distance between the pivot connection formed by the hole 45 and the nail 46 and the face 10b is such that when the brace 30 is rotated to the position shown in Figure 2, the end edge 50 abuts hard against the face 10b so that any load applied to the brace is at least partly transmitted to the cord 10 through the second side wall 36 and the brace is square to the first truss so the correct spacing is achieved.

The nail 46 preferably secures the brace 30 to the cord in a position such that the brace can swing to a position at right angles with respect to the cord 10, at which position the edge 50 abuts the face 10b of the cord 10 and prevents further pivotal movement of the brace 30. This therefore enables the brace 30 to be easily and accurately moved to a perpendicular position. The brace 30 can also act to space the adjacent trusses 12 apart from one another, and therefore also forms the function of a spacer element to facilitate correct location of the trusses 12 as the trusses 12 are being assembled in the roof of the building.

As is best shown in Figures 5 and 6, a spacer element is provided between the end edge 52 of the second wall 36 and the flange 40. The element 60 can be simply formed by making a cut in the second wall 36.

\melbfiles \home$\ Luisa Keep\ Spec c Prov-Building Frame Member Brace.doc 4/12/02 10 The spacer element 60 is intended to allow connection of the connecting plate 39 to cords 10' (or as shown in Figures 3 and 8, which may be of different thickness.

The spacer element 60 has an outer edge 61 and the distance between the outer edge 61 and the flange 40 is preferably 35mm so as to snugly engage cords of that thickness. The distance between the flange 40 and the outer edge 52 of the second wall 36 is 45mm and if the cords 10 have a thickness of 45mm, the spacer element is bent upwardly from the position shown in Figures 5 and 6, to the position shown in Figure 4 so that the cord having the thickness of 45mm can locate between the outer edge 52 and the flange 40. Thus, the outer edge of the brace 30 will be formed by the outer edge 61 on the element 60 or, if the element 60 is bent out of the way, the outer edge 52 of the second wall 36.

When the trusses 12 are installed in a building, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the bottom cords 14 are nailed to top plates 20. The trusses 12 are supported in their upright position before permanent bracing is attached by pivoting the brace 30 from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in Figure 2, and then locating the connection portion 39 over the cord 10' of an adjacent truss 12', as is shown in Figures 3 and 8. The flange and the edge 61 or the edge 52, as well as the plate 39, form a hook which locates over the cord 10' so the punched teeth 44 can rest on upper face 10a' of the cord 10'. The reason for the extended length of the flange 40, which is longer than the teeth 44, is to ensure this hooking engagement so that the brace 30 is easily located on the cord 10' and will hold in that position until permanently installed. A workman need then only reach for his hammer and hammer the teeth 44 into the face 10a' of the cord by hammering in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3 so the teeth 44 penetrate the surface 10a'. Thus, the brace \\melb-files\hoo e$\Li\Kp\Speci\Mitek Prov-Bilding Frame member Bracedoc 4/12/02 11 can be located in position and secured basically by a one-handed operation by simply rotating the brace 30 from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in Figures 2 and 3, and hooking the connection portion 39 over the cord 10'. The connection portion 39 is then simply hammered so that the teeth 44 penetrate the cord to secure the brace 30 in place. The nail 46 is then hammered all the way into the face 10a so that it will not interfere with permanent bracing or battens which are to be attached to the trusses 12.

As is shown in Figure 8, the cord 10' can also be provided with a brace 30' which is secured to cord 10'' of another truss 12'' in the same manner. Thus, all of the trusses 12 in the roof structure can be temporarily braced in this manner to support the trusses 12 in the upright position after attachment to the top plates 20, until permanent bracing and/or battens are secured to the trusses 12.

As will be apparent from the above description, the length of the brace 30 matches the spacing between trusses 12 so that when the brace 30 is pivoted to the position shown in Figures 2 and 3, the connection portion. 39 registers with the cords 10' or 10'' of another truss 12' or 12'' so those cords can be received between the flange 40 and end edge 61 or end edge 52 of the brace 30 or 30'. The brace (or 30') therefore also serves to correctly space the trusses 12 and 12' (or 12' or from one another. The brace 30 is swung only to the perpendicular position and cannot swing beyond that position because of the abutment of the edge 50 with the face 10b. The brace 30 therefore easily takes up the correct position relative to the truss 12 to ensure correct spacing of the trusses 12 and 12' because the carpenter need only swing the brace away from the truss 12 until it will not swing any further. At this position, the brace 30 is perpendicular to the truss 12 and the length of the brace 30 correctly spaces the \\melb_files\home$\Luisa\Keep\Speci\Mitek Prov-Building Frame Member Brace.doc 4/12/02 12 trusses 12 and 12' from one another.

Thus, the brace 30 can be located in the parallel position shown in Figure 1 when the trusses are transported, so that the brace does not interfere with stacking or movement of the trusses, and then swung to the operative position shown in Figures 2 and 3 after the trusses have been installed, to provide the temporary bracing.

The preferred embodiment of the invention therefore provides a building frame member which can be braced much easier and more safely than compared to conventional bracing techniques.

Since modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention may readily be effected by persons skilled within the art, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiment described by way of example hereinabove.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", is used in an inclusive sense, ie. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

H:\Luisa\Keep\Speci\Mitek Prov-Building Frame Member Brace.doc 7/11/03

Claims

1. A building frame member comprising: at least one frame element; a brace; pivotal coupling means for connecting the brace to the frame element so the brace can swing from a position parallel to the frame element, to a position transverse with respect to the frame element; a connector portion on the brace spaced from the pivotal coupling means; a hook on the connection portion; and wherein, when the frame member is located in position, the brace is swingable from a position parallel to the frame element to a position transverse to the frame element so that the connector portion can engage a second frame member spaced from the said frame member by the hook hooking over the second frame member to thereby provide a temporary brace for the said frame member and to correctly space the first frame member from the second frame member.

2. The building frame member of claim 1 wherein the brace has an angle section having a first wall, and a second wall transverse to the first wall.

3. The building frame member of claim 1 wherein the connector portion includes a connecting plate integral with the first wall.

4. The building frame member of claim 3 wherein the connecting plate has a plurality of punched teeth, punched from the plate, and an end flange extending transverse with respect to the plate, the flange having a length which is longer than the punched teeth.

The building frame member of claim 2 wherein the second wall has an inner end edge which, when the brace is H:\Luia\Kep\Spei\Hitek Prov-Building Frame Member Brace.doc 7/11/03 14 swung to the transverse position, abuts against a face of the element so that load applied to the brace is transmitted to the frame element, at least partly from the said inner end edge of the second wall, and locates the brace substantially at right angles to the element.

6. The building frame member of claim 1 wherein the pivotal coupling means comprises a coupling plate formed integral with the brace and a nail passing through the coupling plate and penetrating the frame element.

7. The building frame member of claim 6, wherein the coupling plate is in the form of a flat plate which locates flush on a face of the frame element which is to be arranged uppermost when the frame element is installed in a building, so that the flat plate can easily pivot on the face of the frame element.

8. A building frame member comprising: at least one frame element; a brace; pivotal coupling means for connecting the brace to the frame element so the brace can swing from a position parallel to the frame element, to a prescribed position transverse with respect to the frame element, to enable the brace to be connected to a second frame member and facilitate correct spacing of the frame member and second frame member; and an abutment portion on the brace for abutting the frame element when the brace has been swung to the prescribed transverse position and preventing further swinging movement of the brace beyond that position to thereby position the brace at the prescribed transverse position with respect to the frame element.

9. The building frame member of claim 8 wherein the abutment comprises an end edge portion of a wall of the H:\Lisa\Ieep\Spevi\Mitek Prov-Building Frame Member Bracedoc 7/11/03 15 brace and the distance between the location of the pivotal coupling means and the edge being such that, upon swinging movement of the brace from the parallel position to the transverse position, the edge will contact the frame element when the brace reaches the prescribed transverse position, thereby preventing further swinging movement of the brace to position the brace at the prescribed transverse position.

10. The building frame member of claim 8 wherein the prescribed transverse position is a position of the brace perpendicular to the frame element.

11. The building frame member of claim 9 wherein the brace has an angle section having a first wall and a second wall transverse to the first wall, the second wall being the wall which has the end edge which forms the abutment portion.

12. The building frame member of claim 11 wherein the brace has a connector portion spaced from the pivotal coupling means, the connector portion including a connecting plate integral with the first wall.

13. The building frame member of claim 12, wherein the connecting plate is in the form of a flat plate which locates flush on a face of the frame element which is to be arranged uppermost when the frame element is installed in a building, so that the flat plate can easily pivot on the face of the frame element.

14. The building frame member of claim 12 wherein the connecting plate includes a flange extending transverse to the connecting plate to form a hook with the connecting plate for locating over the second frame member to thereby locate the brace in position on the second frame member and correctly space the first and second frame members H:\Luisa\Keep\Speci\Mitek Prov-Building Frame Member Brace.doc 7/11/03