AU2010249136B2

AU2010249136B2 - A mounting bracket for panels of a partition wall, and partition walls constructed using the mounting bracket

Info

Publication number: AU2010249136B2
Application number: AU2010249136A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Rudolf Edgar Moritz
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-12-02
Filing date: 2010-11-30
Publication date: 2012-09-13
Anticipated expiration: 2030-11-30
Also published as: AU2010249136A1

Abstract

Abstract A mounting bracket (50) for use in attaching a wall panel (60) to a wall stud (10), having at least one aperture 15 therein, has a base member (51). A stem member (52) connects the base member (51) to a retaining member (53) that has the shape of a segment of a circular cylinder. The (or each) aperture 51 in the wall stud (10) has a wider portion (17) from the lower region of which a vertical slot portion (16) extends. The dimensions of the stem member (52) and the retaining member (53) are such that the retaining member is a friction fit against the material of the wall stud in the region of the aperture (15) when the stem member is moved downwardly into the slot portion (16) of the aperture (15). A partition wall is constructed by hanging wall panels, to which mounting brackets (50) have been affixed, on wall studs that contain the apertures (15) having a wider portion (17) and a slot portion (16). A window panel (61) may be mounted on adjacent wall studs (10) of such a partition wall. AOpt /5'

Description

1 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Name of applicant/Nominated Person: Rudolf Edgar Moritz Address for Service: Davies Collison Cave, Patent Attorneys 1 Nicholson Street, MELBOURNE, Victoria, 3000. Invention title: "A mounting bracket for panels of a partition wall, and partition walls constructed using the mounting bracket" Details of Associated Provisional Application: Provisional Patent Application No. 2009905877 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 2 Technical field. This invention concerns partitioning walls constructed by hanging panels onto metal wall studs. More particularly, it concerns (a) a mounting bracket 5 that functions as a hook that enables a wall panel to be "hung" on a pair of wall studs to form a partition wall, and (b) a partition wall constructed using panels, fitted with the mounting bracket that constitutes the present invention, hung on metal wall studs having apertures of a specific shape to receive the mounting bracket. 10 Preliminary note. In this specification, including the claims, "directional" terms (such as "top", "bottom", "side", "upper", "lower", "above", "upwards", "below", "inwards", "behind", "horizontal", "vertical" and the like) will be used in the 15 sense that these terms would have with reference to an embodiment of the mounting bracket positioned as shown in Figures 2(a) and 2(b), and wall studs and partition walls positioned as shown in Figures 1, 4, 10 and 12 of the accompanying drawings. Also, the term "room" used in this specification includes an area in any space (for example, a warehouse) that is defined by at 20 least one wall that separates that area within that space. Background to the invention. When internal space in a building has to be partitioned (for example, to create individual offices on a floor of an office block, or to create an office in a 25 warehouse), the conventional method of creating the required partitioning walls is as follows: 1. A timber wall frame (an internal stud wall frame) for the partition walls is erected on site. 2. Plaster panels - for example, panels of "Gyprock" ("Gyprock" is a 3 trade mark) - and windows and doors, as required, are attached to the erected wall frame. 3. The plaster panels are finished and the entire partition wall assembly is painted. 5 This sequence of actions means that, firstly, a carpenter is required on site to cut lengths of dressed timber having appropriate cross-sectional dimensions to form the studs and noggins for the partitioning walls, and to erect the walls. The carpenter is followed by a plasterer, then by a painter. 10 If, some time after the partitioning walls have been erected, they have to be removed (for example, if the office is no longer needed, or a different office layout is required), the doors and windows are removed, the plaster panels are ripped off the stud walls (thus destroying the plaster panels), and the assembled stud wall is taken down. The dismantled wall frame (comprising the studs and 15 noggins) is discarded. Neither the plaster panels nor the stud wall frame can be re-used. The disadvantages of conventional partitioning walls, therefore, include (a) the inconvenience of having to engage a series of tradesmen, one after the other, on 20 site, to assemble the walls, and (b) the generation of waste if and when the partitioning walls have to be removed. Clearly, the costs associated with the creation and removal of partition walls would be reduced, and the inconvenience associated with their erection and 25 dismantling would be minimised (a) if a single tradesman could assemble the required internal partitioning walls on site, using prefabricated components, and (b) if all the components of the partitioning walls could be re-used when the partitioning is no longer required.

4 One proposal for a partition wall that can be dismantled so that its components can be used again is found in the specification of U.S. patent No. 4,704,835 (to Lamar Jordan). The wording of that specification implies that such partition walls had been proposed prior to Lamar Jordan's invention, but that those 5 partition walls had problems with the mounting of the panels on the wall studs. Lamar Jordan noted (in column 3 of his specification, at lines 6 to 9) that: "....conventional panels are not tension fitted [by their hooks] and are inclined to wobble or to be dislocated with respect to each other and the supporting channel shaped studs". He proposed a new hook construction, and a different 10 wall stud configuration that (he asserted) would overcome this problem. Enquiries made by the present inventor have shown that, unfortunately, (a) the "tensioning" that Lamar Jordan asserts is achieved with his novel hook (novel, that is, in 1985 when he made his U.S. patent application), as shown in is Figure 8 of the specification of his U.S. patent No. 4,704,835, is not achieved in practice, and (b) his wall stud apertures - which taper to a point - have their shape distorted by the hooks each time a new panel is hung on the wall studs, with a resultant loss of panel registration and a consequent loss of the re-use value of the wall studs. 20 Disclosure of the invention. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a mounting member (that I have called a "mounting bracket") that, when attached to a panel that is to be hung on wall studs to construct a partition wall, does provide the 25 "tensioning" that Lamar Jordan wished to achieve with the hook of his U.S. patent No. 4,704,835. This mounting bracket is to be used with a panel to be mounted on a metal wall stud that has apertures in it that can receive the mounting bracket attached to the panel.

5 This objective is achieved by a mounting bracket that is intended to be used to hang a panel on a metal wall stud that contains apertures that each comprise a wider aperture portion, from the lower region of which a vertical slot region of uniform width extends. 5 The mounting bracket has a flat base member, having a first face that is planar (this face being intended to be positioned against a planar surface of the panel when the mounting bracket is affixed to the panel) and a second planar face, the plane of which is parallel to plane of the first face. A (short) stem 10 member extends away from the base member to connect the base member to a retaining member. The retaining member has the shape of a segment of a hollow circular cylinder, the axis of which is parallel to the first and second planes of the surfaces of the base member. Thus the retaining member has two arcuate surfaces that have substantially the same centre of curvature. Corresponding 15 points on the ends of the arcuate surfaces are equi-spaced from the plane of the second face of the base member, and the linear mid-lines of each arcuate surface (a) are parallel to the planes of the first and second faces of the base member, and (b) lie in a plane that is perpendicular to the planes of the first and second faces of the base member. 20 The stem member has cross-sectional dimensions that enable it to be positioned within the slot of an aperture in the wall stud. The retaining member has dimensions such that (a) the entire retaining member can pass through the wider portion of the apertures in the wall stud, and (b) the length of the linear mid-lines 25 of its arcuate surfaces (that is, its horizontal dimension, 1, when the planes of the first and second faces of the base member are vertical) is greater than the width of the vertical slot of each aperture in the wall stud. The shortest distance between the plane of the second face of the base member and the arcuate surface of the retaining member that has the greater radius of curvature(in practice, this 6 "point" will be the linear mid-line of that arcuate surface) is substantially equal to, but slightly greater than, the thickness of the metal wall stud material in the region of the aperture through which the retaining member has to pass. Thus, when the retaining member has been positioned adjacent to (and behind) an 5 aperture in the wall stud and the stem member has been moved into, and down, the elongate vertical slot in the aperture, the mounting bracket is a frictional fit on the wall stud. Preferably, the lower end of each slot in the apertures in the wall stud is 10 horizontal, so that the metal surrounding the slot is not distorted when the stem member of a mounting bracket on a wall panel contacts the material of the wall stud at that lower end of the slot. Preferably, but not necessarily, the stem member is a metal strip, having a width substantially equal to the distance between the (substantially linear) outside edges of the arcuate faces of the is retaining member. Thus the present invention provides a mounting bracket for a panel to be mounted on a pair of metal wall studs, each wall stud having at least one aperture therein, each of said apertures comprising a wider aperture portion from the 20 lower region of which a narrower vertical slot portion of the aperture, of substantially uniform width, extends; said mounting bracket comprising: 1. a flat base member having a first face that is planar, said first face being intended to be positioned against a planar surface of said panel, and a second planar face, the plane of which is parallel to the 25 plane of the first face; and 2. a stem member connecting from said base member to a retaining member; said retaining member having a shape that is the shape of a segment of a hollow circular cylinder, the axis of which is parallel to the planes of said first and second faces, whereby said retaining 7 member has two arcuate faces that have substantially the same centre of curvature; corresponding points on the ends of said arcuate surfaces being equi-spaced from the plane of said second face of said base member; 5 further characterised in that (a) said stem member has cross-sectional dimensions that enable it to be positioned within said slot portion of an aperture in said wall stud; (b) said retaining member has dimensions such that the entire retaining member can pass through said wider aperture portion, and its horizontal dimension is greater than the width of said vertical slot portion 10 of each said aperture; and (c) the distance between said second face of said base member and the closest point thereto of said retaining member is substantially equal to, but slightly greater than, the thickness of the material of said metal wall stud in the region of the aperture through which said retaining member has to pass to mount said panel on said wall stud. 15 The present invention also encompasses a partition wall comprising (a) at least two metal wall studs, each having at least one aperture therein, each of said apertures comprising a wider aperture portion from the lower region of which a vertical slot portion of the aperture, of substantially uniform width, extends, and 20 (b) at least one wall panel mounted on said wall studs, said (or each) wall panel having at least two mounting brackets as defined in the last preceding paragraph affixed thereto; the mounting of said (or each) wall panel being effected by the positioning of the stem member of each of its mounting brackets within said slot portion of a respective aperture. 25 Such a partition wall can be erected in a relatively short time and its components, and any other components that may have been added when the partition wall was erected, can be removed without being destroyed, and can be re-used.

8 The preferred wall stud for the partition wall is a metal wall stud comprising a channel member having an elongate, generally planar, central web portion of uniform width, from each elongate edge of which a respective planar side arm extends. The plane of each side arm is substantially at right angles to the plane 5 that contains the edges of the web portion. Each side arm contains two linear arrays of apertures, the elongate direction of the arrays of apertures being the same as the elongate direction of the channel member (so that the linear arrays of apertures are parallel to each other). A respective slot extends from a corresponding position on the lowermost point of each of these apertures, in 10 the elongate direction of the channel member. Preferably, the spacing of the pairs of apertures in each arm is a constant, and a pair of apertures in one arm of the channel member has a corresponding pair of apertures in the other arm of the channel member. The number of apertures in each linear array is not critical but, since 15 (a) a wall stud should be able to receive components of a partition wall having varying vertical dimensions; and (b) the wall studs, almost certainly, will be mass produced; it is convenient to have the apertures of the linear arrays in the each wall stud spaced apart, vertically, approximately 160 mm. (Obviously, a different aperture 20 spacing may be used.) The wall stud should have length that is slightly less than the height of the room to be formed by the partition wall. 25 To assemble a partition wall, a simple channel member - a "bottom rail" or "foot channel" - is affixed to the floor where the partition wall is to be erected, and another simple channel member - a "top rail" or "head channel" - is attached to the ceiling (or to a structure that has been assembled above the floor of the area being partitioned, at the level of the height of the partitioning wall, 9 within a high building such as warehouse) directly above the bottom rail. The bottom and top rails each comprise a planar, elongate web portion of uniform width, from each edge of which a planar "arm" member extends at right angles to the plane of the web portion. Two wall studs constructed in accordance with 5 the present invention are then positioned in spaced apart relationship to each other, between the bottom and top rails, with the planes of the arms of the studs essentially parallel to the planes of the arms of the top and bottom rails. To hold a wall stud in position between the bottom and top rails, it is preferable 10 for a respective adjustable stud jack (a commercially available item) to be attached to the lower end of the web portion of each wall stud. When the wall stud has been positioned between the bottom and top rails, the stud jack is adjusted (its "foot" is lowered) using a spanner, a wrench or a screwdriver, as appropriate, until the top of the wall stud makes firm contact with the web of 15 the top rail. A planar wall panel to which at least one pair of mounting brackets has been attached, in a spaced apart horizontal relationship, may be mounted on the two wall studs if the mounting brackets (constructed in accordance with the present 20 invention) are separated by a distance which is equal to the distance between the centres of the apertures of (1) the right linear array in the left wall stud and (2) the left linear array in the right wall stud. A convenient form of wall panel is a panel of high density chipboard (or similar 25 material) to the faces (including the edge faces) of which sheets of "Laminex" material ("Laminex" is a trade mark) have been bonded. Such panels are rigid panels that are easy to clean, and mounting brackets of the type described above can be readily attached to such panels using screws. Of course, panels of a different construction (including timber panels) may be mounted ("hung") on a 10 pair of wall studs constructed in accordance with the present invention. A single, tall panel may be mounted on a pair of adjacent wall studs, or several smaller panels - at least one of which may be a window panel - may be 5 independently mounted on the pair of adjacent wall panels, to create a section of a partition wall. Repeating this process using a third wall stud, a fourth wall stud, or more than four wall studs positioned vertically between a bottom rail and a top rail will enable an entire partitioning wall to be constructed. 10 Thus, according to a further aspect of the present invention, a partition wall comprises at least two wall studs; each wall stud comprising: 1. a channel member having an elongate, central web portion of uniform width; with a respective planar side arm extending from each elongate edge of said web portion, the plane of each side arm being 15 substantially at right angles to the plane which contains the edges of said web portion; and two parallel linear arrays of apertures in each side arm, the elongate direction of said linear arrays being the same as the elongate direction of said channel member, each aperture having a wider aperture portion from the lower region of which an elongate 20 slot portion of the aperture extends, the elongate direction of each elongate slot being the elongate direction of said channel member; and 2. at least one panel mounted on a, or a respective, pair of adjacent wall studs using at least two mounting brackets in accordance with the present invention, attached to said, or each, panel. 25 Preferably, the web portion of each wall stud is generally planar, and the width of one of the side arms of each wall stud is the same as the width of the other side arm thereof.

I1 Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only. In the following description reference will be made to the accompanying drawings. 5 Brief description of the drawings. Figure 1 is a partly isometric, partially schematic sketch of the upper part of a wall stud constructed to receive wall panels that have mounting brackets, in accordance with the present invention, attached to them. 10 Figures 2(a), 2(b), 2(c) and 2(d) are, respectively, a perspective sketch, a side elevation, an end elevation and a plan view of a preferred form of the mounting bracket of the present invention, for use, when affixed to a panel, in horizontally spaced pairs, in the mounting ("hanging") of a panel on a pair of adjacent metal wall studs. 15 Figure 3 is a partly schematic perspective sketch of a panel that may be mounted on two adjacent wall studs as a step in the erection of a partition wall. Figure 4 shows the shape of a metal panel that can be folded to form the wall 20 stud of Figure 1. Figure 5 is the end view from above of the wall stud of Figure 1, and shows the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the wall stud. 25 Figure 6(a) is an end view of a top rail for use with the wall stud of the present invention, showing the cross-sectional shape of the top rail. Figure 6(b) is a plan view of an elongate metal strip that, when folded, forms the top rail illustrated in Figure 6(a).

12 Figure 7(a) is an end view of a bottom rail for use with the wall stud of the present invention, showing the cross-sectional shape of the bottom rail. 5 Figure 7(b) is a plan view of an elongate metal strip that, when folded, forms the bottom rail illustrated in Figure 7(a). Figure 8 is a perspective sketch of the preferred form of stud jack that may be affixed to the lowermost part of a wall stud of the present invention when 10 erecting a partition wall. Figure 9 illustrates how two window frame panels may be used to create a double glazed window in a partition wall. 15 Figure 10 is a partly schematic, partly sectional, view of an insulating partition wall. Figure 11 shows how a corner between two insulating walls of the type shown in Figure 10 may be constructed. 20 Figure 12 shows how an upper and a lower double glazed window may be incorporated into an insulating partition wall. Figure 13 depicts a T-junction of (a) a partition wall having full height double 25 glazed windows in it and (b) an insulating wall. Detailed description of the illustrated embodiments. The wall stud 10 illustrated in Figure 1 comprises a metal channel member having a generally planar, elongate web portion 11 of constant width w, from 13 the edges of which two planar side arms 12 and 13 extend. The planes of the side arms 12 and 13 are at right angles to the plane containing the side edges of the web portion 11. The web portion 11 will usually have a number of small apertures 14 in it, through which respective screws or bolts may be passed to 5 mount the wall stud securely on a support member (for example, a wall against which the end of a partition wall is to abut). The small apertures 14 need not be centrally positioned along the web portion 11, as shown in Figure 1, and at least some of the small apertures 14 may be replaced by a pair of horizontally spaced small apertures. Other alternative arrangements of small apertures may be used 10 in the web portion 11. Each side arm 12, 13 contains two, corresponding, spaced apart, linear arrays of apertures 15. Each aperture 15 has a wider aperture portion 17 from the lowermost portion of which a respective slot 16 extends downwardly. 15 The web portion 11 need not be planar. For example, it could have an arcuate horizontal cross-section, or it may be formed to have at least one V-shaped crease, or a stepped indented portion, extending the entire length of the web portion, to provide additional stiffness to the wall stud. (These variations in the 20 cross-sectional shape of the web portion 11 are not exhaustive.) In practice, however, such variations of the horizontal cross-sectional shape of the web portion 11 are unnecessary provided the metal used for the wall stud is sufficiently thick. (Steel having a thickness of 1.6 or 1.5 mm is the preferred material for making the wall stud.) What is important is that the planar parts of 25 the arms 12 and 13 that contain the apertures 15 are parallel to each other. The mounting bracket of the present invention enables wall panels to be mounted ("hung") securely on wall studs of the type shown in Figure 1. Figures 14 2(a) to 2(d) illustrate the preferred mounting bracket. This mounting bracket comprises a flat base member 51 in the form of a small, elongate plate (it need not be elongate; it could be, for example, a circular disc, an oval disc, or a disc having a periphery of any suitable shape), having a first planar face 61 that, 5 when the mounting bracket is attached to a wall panel, will be adjacent to the surface of the wall panel. The base member 51 has a second planar face 62. Apertures (holes) 63 in the base member enable it to be mounted on a wall panel using countersunk screws. (In the absence of apertures 63, the base member could be attached to the wall panel using a suitable glue.) 10 The base member 51 is connected to a retaining member 53 by a short stem member 52. The retaining member 53 has a shape that is the shape of a segment of a hollow circular cylinder and thus has two arcuate surfaces 57 and 58 that have substantially the same centre of curvature. The distances between (a) 15 corresponding points on the ends 64 and 65 of the arcuate surfaces, and (b) the second face 62 of the base member 51, are the same. The retaining member 53 has dimensions such that (a) the entire retaining member can pass through the wider portion 17 of the apertures 15 in the arms of the wall stud, and (b) its horizontal dimension, 1, is greater than the width of the vertical slot 16 of each 20 aperture in the arm of the wall stud. The shortest distance between the second face 62 of the base member and the closest point of the retaining member (in fact, this "point" will be the linear mid line of the arcuate surface 57, that is parallel to the plane of the second face of 25 the base member) is substantially equal to, but slightly greater than, the thickness of the metal wall stud material in the region of the aperture 15 through which the retaining member has to pass. The linear mid-lines of the arcuate surfaces 57 and 58 lie in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane of the second face 62 15 (for convenience, I have called this plane the centre plane of the arcuate surfaces). The dimension of each part of the stem member in a horizontal direction parallel to the centre plane of the arcuate surfaces is less than the width of the slot 16 of the apertures in the side arms 12, 13 of the wall stud. 5 Thus, when the retaining member has been positioned adjacent to (and behind) the elongate (vertical) slot in an aperture and the stem member is within the slot 16, the mounting bracket will be a frictional fit on the arm of the wall stud. 10 Although the mounting bracket can be constructed from two or more components, it is preferable for the base member, the stem member and the retaining member to be formed integrally. In this regard, the mounting bracket illustrated in Figure 2 is preferred because (a) it can be pressed from a small, generally T-shaped, metal plate, and 15 (b) having the stem member as a strip of metal having a width that is essentially the same as the distance between the ends 66 and 67 of the arcuate surfaces, ensures that the stem member has good rigidity and strength. 20 Reverting now to the wall studs for use with the mounting bracket of the present invention, the preferred shape of the apertures 15 is the shape shown in some detail in Figures 1 and 4. Each aperture 15 has (a) a wider, quadrilateral aperture portion with vertical elongate sides parallel to each other and to the elongate direction of the wall stud, with its upper edge horizontal, and with its lower edge 25 such that the quadrilateral is equivalent to a rectangle with a triangular extension at its lower end; and (b) a slot portion 16 of uniform width extending vertically downwards from the lowermost point of the quadrilateral wider aperture portion. Preferably, the lower edge of the slot 16 is horizontal. However, any suitable 16 shape of the wider portion 17 of the apertures 15 may be may be used in the side arms of the wall stud. Figure 3 shows a rectangular panel 60 for use as a panel of a section of a 5 partition wall. Four brackets 50 have been attached to the panel 60 by screws. The panel 60, conveniently, comprises a high density chipboard (or similar material) panel, with sheets of "Laminex" material ("Laminex" is a trade mark) bonded to its faces (including the edge faces). Such panels, as noted above, are rigid and easily cleaned, and mounting brackets 50 can be readily attached to 10 such panels using screws. Of course, panels of a different construction including a window panel 51, one example of which is described below with reference to Figure 9 - may be mounted ("hung") on a pair of wall studs 10. To "hang" a Laminex-covered panel 60 onto a pair of wall studs 10, a suction 15 pad (a common glazier's tool) may be used to hold the panel in position with the retaining members 53 of the mounting brackets 50 aligned with apertures 15 of the wall studs 10. The panel 60 is then (1) moved towards the wall stud, so that the retaining members pass through the aligned apertures 15 and the retaining members 53 are 20 behind the arm of the wall stud, and (2) lowered so that the stems 52 of the mounting brackets enter the slots 16 associated with the aligned apertures 15. A single, tall panel may be mounted on a pair of adjacent wall studs, or several 25 smaller panels - including a window panel - may be independently mounted on the pair of adjacent wall panels, to create a section of a partition wall. When several smaller panels are to be mounted on a pair of adjacent wall studs, the lowermost panel of the partition wall is "hung" first on the wall studs and the 17 uppermost panel is "hung" last. If the partition wall has to be dismantled, the uppermost panel is removed first and the lowermost panel is the last to be removed. 5 Figure 4 shows part of a flat, elongate metal panel that has been constructed to form the wall stud of Figure 1. This panel has a central elongate portion 11 of uniform width w and two elongate side portions 12 and 13. Each side portion 12, 13 extends outwardly from a respective side edge of the central portion 11 for a distance s. Thus the width s of the side portion 12 is the same as the width s 10 of the side portion 13. Each side portion contains two parallel linear arrays of apertures 15, and each aperture 15 has a respective wider aperture portion 17 with an elongate slot portion 16 extending from it in the linear direction of the linear arrays. When the metal panel is folded along the side edges of the central portion 11, so that the plane of each side portion 12, 13 is at right angles to the 15 plane of the central portion 11, the wall stud illustrated in Figure 1, and having the horizontal cross-sectional shape shown in Figure 5, is formed. If a different horizontal cross-sectional shape for the web portion of the wall stud to be formed from this panel is required, the central portion 11 may be formed to the required horizontal cross-section of the wall stud's web portion before the side portions 20 12 and 13 are folded to become the side arms of the wall stud. To form a partition wall, the wall stud will be positioned between two "rails", each in the form of a channel member. One of the two rails (the bottom rail) is securely mounted on the floor at the location of the partition wall. The other rail 25 (the top rail) is securely mounted above the bottom wall, on the ceiling (or the equivalent structure if a room is to be constructed in a tall warehouse or other tall building).

18 The cross-sectional shape of a top (or ceiling) rail 20 is shown in Figure 6(a). This top rail has a web member 21 and side arms 22 and 23. It has been formed from the elongate planar panel 25 shown in Figure 6(b). The panel 25 comprises a central elongate portion 21 and two elongate side portions 22 and 23. The top 5 rail 20 is formed when the planar side portions 22 and 23 of the elongate panel 25 are rotated about, respectively, the dashed lines 26 and 27 (which are the boundaries between the side portions 22 and 23 and the central portion 21) until the plane of each side portion is orthogonal to the plane of the central portion 21. In this way, the side portions 22 and 23 become the arms 22 and 23 of the top 10 rail 20, and the central portion 21 becomes the web 21 of the top rail 20. The cross-sectional shape of a bottom (or floor) rail 30 is shown in Figure 7(a). This bottom rail has a web member 31 and side arms 32 and 33. It has been formed from the elongate planar panel 35 shown in Figure 7(b). The panel 35 15 comprises a central elongate portion 31 and two elongate side portions 32 and 33. The bottom rail 30 is formed when the planar side portions 32 and 33 of the elongate panel 35 are rotated about, respectively, the dashed lines 36 and 37 (which are the boundaries between the side portions 32 and 33 and the central portion 31) until the plane of each side portion is orthogonal to the plane of the 20 central portion 31. In this way, the side portions 32 and 33 become the arms 32 and 33 of the bottom rail 30, and the central portion 31 becomes the web 31 of the bottom rail 30. In these illustrated embodiments of the top and bottom rails, the side portions 25 22 and 23 have the same width. The side portions 32 and 33 also have the same width (which is different from the width of the side portions 22 and 23). This "equal width" feature is not essential. Also in these illustrated embodiments of the top and bottom rails, the web 19 member of each rail contains perforations 35, which (a) reduce the weight of the rail, and (b) provide a number of convenient apertures through which a screw or bolt may be passed, to secure the rail to the floor or ceiling (as the case may 5 be). The top and bottom rails 20, 30 are conveniently made from extruded sheets of aluminium or an aluminium alloy, having a thickness of 1.5 mm (but other suitable materials and other suitable thicknesses of material may be used). 10 The width of the web portion 21, 31 of the top and bottom rails is such that the wall stud shown in Figure 1 can fit between the arms 22 and 23 of the top rail, and between the arms 32 and 33 of the bottom rail, with the planes of the planar arms 12 and 13 parallel to the planes of the arms 22, 23, 32 and 33. Preferably, the outside faces of the arms 11 and 12 are closely adjacent to is the inside faces of the arms 22 and 32 and the arms 23 and 33. Ideally, the length of the wall stud 10 will be such that when the wall stud is positioned between a bottom rail and a top rail, the ends of the wall stud will be a press fit against the web portions 21 and 31 of the top and bottom rails. In 20 practice, such an ideal situation is achievable only rarely and the length of the wall stud 10 is shown to be a little less than the distance between the top rail and the floor where the partition wall is to be erected. Preferably, when the wall stud 10 has been positioned between the top and bottom rails 20, 30, a stud jack attached to the bottom of the web 11 of the wall stud 10 is adjusted, 25 using a spanner or a screwdriver, as appropriate, until the top end of the wall stud 10 is in firm contact with the web 21 of the top rail 20. Optionally, a pad of a compressible and resilient material may be placed between the top end of the wall stud 10 and the web 21 of the top rail.

20 One commercially available stud jack 40 is depicted by Figure 8 (and is featured in Figure 10). This stud jack has a solid body 41, from the back of which two flanges 42 and 43 extend. The body 41 has a vertical threaded aperture extending through it. The central portion of a threaded stud 44 is 5 contained within this threaded aperture. A foot 45 is attached to the exposed lower end of the stud 44, and the terminating short length of stud 44 at its upper end comprises a number of (typically, four) flat, vertical surfaces 46. A shifting spanner or a wrench, applied to the flat surfaces 46, is used to rotate the stud 44. Rotation of the stud 44 raises or lowers the foot 45 relative to the 10 body 41 of the stud jack. Apertures 47 in the flanges 42, 43 permit the stud jack 40 to be mounted on the lower end of the wall stud 10 - for example, using bolts which pass through the apertures 19 near the lower end of the wall stud (see Figure 4). 15 The wall studs 10 may have a large aperture 18 (see Figure 4), usually in the lower half of the wall stud, to permit the routing of power cables (and other cables) within a partition wall. More than one large aperture 18 may be included in the web portion of a wall stud (for example, if cables that have to be physically separated from each other are to be routed within the partition wall). 20 Normally, only a wall stud 10 which is adjacent to a wall at the edge of the space being partitioned (which is a wall against which the partition wall will abut) needs to be securely attached to that wall (and/or to the ceiling and/or floor, using suitable brackets) when that wall stud has been positioned with its 25 top end in contact with the web of the top rail. When two adjacent wall studs 10 have been positioned between the top and bottom rails and their stud jacks 40 have been adjusted to lift the studs so that the top ends of the studs are in firm contact with the web 21 of the top rail, each 21 wall stud 10 presents, to each side of the top and bottom rails, an arm containing two linear arrays of apertures 15. A rectangular panel (or window panel) of a partition wall may now be mounted on the adjacent wall studs. To mount the panel on the wall studs, the panel has at least one pair of mounting brackets 5 attached to the panel. The (or each) pair of mounting brackets is spaced apart horizontally, with each mounting bracket attached to the panel inwardly from a side edge of the panel, a distance such that, when the panel is mounted on the wall studs (by the operative engagement of each mounting bracket with the slot portion 16 of an aperture 15) only one linear array of apertures 15 is covered by 10 the panel. (An exception to this is when one of the wall studs onto which the panel is to be mounted is adjacent to, and abuts against, a wall of the space that is being partitioned; both linear arrays of apertures 15 of that wall stud may be covered when the panel is mounted on that wall stud and its adjacent wall stud.) 15 When a window is required in a partition wall, any one of a number of window panel constructions may be used. Figure 9 is a partly schematic, horizontal section through the top region of two window panels 61, mounted on the opposed side arms of adjacent wall studs 10 20 (not shown in Figure 9). Each window panel 61 comprises left and right rectangular channel members 62, each having a short web member 63. Each web member 63 (a) is a connection between the two arm members 64 and 65 of its channel member 62 (which are planar arm members, with their 25 planes parallel to each other), and (b) has an outer surface that defines the side edge of the window panel 61. In each window panel 61, a pane 67 of glass or of a solid material that is 22 transparent or translucent, such as perspex or a polycarbonate material (these alternatives are not exhaustive), is supported between the arm members 64 and 65 by profiled gaskets 68 (shown schematically only in Figure 9) of rubber or of a similar compressible, resilient material. 5 Note: Henceforth in this specification including the claims, the word "glass" shall mean glass or a solid material that is transparent or translucent. Mounting brackets 50 are affixed near to the top end of each arm member 65 10 (they may also be affixed near the bottom end of each arm member 65). A respective planar flange 66 extends inwardly from the edge of each arm member 65 which is remote from its associated web member 63, at right angles to the pane of glass 67. The flanges 66, in the embodiment illustrated in Figure 9, extends from the arm member 65 for a distance such that, when 15 two window panels 61 are mounted in corresponding positions on opposed side arms of a pair of adjacent wall studs 10, the inner edges of the flanges 66 abut, or almost abut against each other. The top and bottom of each window panel 61 shown in Figure 9 is defined by 20 a respective horizontal channel member having the same construction (including the flange 66) as the channel members 62, but without the mounting brackets 50. When such window panels 61 are mounted in corresponding positions on opposed arms of a pair of adjacent wall studs 10, they form a double glazed window having "sound-out" properties. 25 If double glazing is not required in a partition wall, the glass pane 67 may be omitted from one of the window panels 61, and the space between the inner ends of each of the arm members 64 and 65 that are remote from the web 63 of that window panel may be closed by a strip of a suitable material (which may 23 be a strip of wood, of a plastics material, or of a metal). Alternatively (but this is not preferred), the flange 66 of the window panel from which the glass pane has been omitted may also be omitted, if the planar flange 66 of the window panel that contains a glass pane 67 extends from the arm member 65 to which it 5 is attached to abut against, or nearly abut against, the arm member 65 of the other window panel. An alternative to the window panels shown in Figure 9 is a window panel which consists of a window frame (which may be of timber) containing a pane of 10 glass, and with a pair of mounting brackets attached to the top region of the window frame (and, optionally, with another pair of mounting brackets attached to the bottom region of the window frame) in positions similar to the upper (and lower) pair of mounting brackets on the wall panel illustrated in Figure 8. Two such windows may be mounted on opposed side arms of adjacent wall studs 15 to provide the equivalent of a double glazed (or a partially double glazed) window in a partition wall. With this alternative window panel arrangement, if the pane of glass is mounted in a sub-frame of the window frame, and the sub-frame is mounted on hinges 20 attached to the window frame, an openable window may be provided in a partition wall. An openable window may also be provided if two panes of glass are mounted in this alternative window panel arrangement, so that one pane can be moved sideways, in front of the other pane of glass. 25 Figure 10 is a partly schematic, vertical sectional view through an insulating partition wall constructed using the wall studs 10. The basic construction of this wall has been described above, and need not be repeated here. Insulation of this wall is provided by at least one batt or slab 70 of mineral wool (or of another insulating material) that has been inserted between adjacent wall studs 24 10. The tall single slab or batt 70 of insulating material shown in Figure 10 is held in position by top pads 71 and bottom pads 72, before the panels 60 have been mounted on the wall studs. In the partition wall shown in Figure 10, sealing strips 73 (of rubber or of another compressible and resilient material) are 5 used (a) between the top of the wall panel and the ceiling 74, and (b) between the bottom of the wall panel and the floor 75. Figure 11 illustrates one way in which a corner formed by two insulating partition walls may be constructed using standard joinery techniques. This 10 corner construction includes (a) an aluminium full-height corner trim member 76, and (b) sealing strips 77 - of rubber or of another compressible and resilient material - between the adjacent wall panels 60. Figure 12 shows how two vertically separated double glazed window panels 61 may be included in a partition wall of the type described above with reference to Figure 10. The insulating property of the wall section shown in Figure 12 is achieved (a) by the use of small slabs 70 of insulating material in the spaces below the lower window panel and between the upper window panel and the lower window panel, and (b) by the effective insulating properties of the double glazed window assemblies. Figure 13 is a partly schematic horizontal sectional view through a partition wall assembly in which a door 81 is separated from an insulating wall 80 by two double glazed full height window sections 82. A junction wall stud 83 is used to form the T-junction between the wall 80 and the end of the adjacent full height window section 82. The door 81 is supported by hinges (not shown) that are attached to a side member 84 of a door frame that has been pre fabricated and has been included in the framework of the partition wall.

25 Engineers will appreciate that the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described above are provided by way of example only, and that variations and modifications of the illustrated embodiments may be made without departing from the present inventive concept, as defined by the claims of this specification.

Claims

1. A mounting bracket for a panel to be mounted on a pair of metal wall studs, each wall stud having at least one aperture therein, each of said apertures comprising a wider aperture portion from the lower region of which a narrower vertical slot portion of the aperture, of substantially uniform width, extends; said mounting bracket comprising: (a) a flat base member having a first face that is planar, said first face being intended to be positioned against a planar surface of said panel, and a second planar face, the plane of which is parallel to the plane of the first surface; and (b) a stem member connecting from said base member to a retaining member; said retaining member having a shape that is the shape of a segment of a hollow circular cylinder, the axis of which is parallel to the planes of said first and second surfaces, whereby said retaining member has two arcuate surfaces that have substantially the same centre of curvature; corresponding points on the ends of the arcuate surfaces being equi-spaced from the plane of said second face of said base member; further characterised in that (1) said stem member has cross-sectional dimensions that enable it to be positioned within said slot portion of an aperture in said wall stud; (2) said retaining member has dimensions such that the entire retaining member can pass through said wider aperture portion, and its horizontal dimension is greater than the width of said vertical slot portion of each said aperture; and (3) the distance between said second face of said base member and the closest point thereto of said retaining member is substantially equal to, but slightly greater than, the thickness of the material of said metal wall stud in the region of the aperture through which said retaining member has to pass to mount said panel on said wall stud. 27

2. A mounting bracket as defined in claim 1, in which said base member, said stem member and said retaining member are formed integrally.

3. A mounting bracket as defined in claim 1 or claim 2, in which said base member has a generally rectangular shape and contains apertures through which respective screws may pass to secure said base member to a wall panel.

4. A partition wall comprising (a) at least two metal wall studs, each having at least one aperture therein, each of said apertures comprising a wider aperture portion from the lower region of which a vertical slot portion of the aperture, of substantially uniform width, extends, and (b) at least one wall panel mounted on said wall studs; said, or each, wall panel having at least two mounting brackets as defined in any one of claims 1 to 3 affixed thereto; the mounting of said, or each, wall panel being effected by the positioning of the stem member of each of said mounting brackets within said slot portion of a respective aperture.

5. A partition wall comprising at least two wall studs; each wall stud comprising: 1. a channel member having an elongate, central web portion of uniform width; with a respective planar side arm extending from each elongate edge of said web portion, the plane of each side arm being substantially at right angles to the plane which contains the edges of said web portion; and two parallel linear arrays of apertures in each side arm, the elongate direction of said linear arrays being the same as the elongate direction of said channel member, each aperture having a wider aperture portion from the 28 lower region of which an elongate slot portion of the aperture extends, the elongate direction of each elongate slot being the elongate direction of said channel member; and 2. at least one panel mounted on a, or a respective, pair of adjacent wall studs using at least two mounting brackets as defined in any one of claims 1 to 3 attached to said or each panel.

6. A partition wall as defined in claim 5, in which at least one of said wall studs has a plurality of spaced apart small apertures in its web portion, through which a screw or bolt may pass to mount said wall stud on a support member.

7. A partition wall as defined in claim 5 or claim 6, in which each wall stud has at least one large aperture in its web portion, through which cables may be passed.

8. A partition wall as defined in claim 5, claim 6 or claim 7, including a stud jack affixed to the lower end of the web portion of each wall stud.

9. A partition wall as defined in any one of claims 5 to 8, in which adjacent wall studs are mounted in spaced apart relationship between a top rail and a bottom rail, with the web portion of each wall stud being vertical; characterised in that (a) said top rail comprises a channel member having (1) an elongate web portion of uniform width affixed to a ceiling or to a structure that defines the height of the required partition wall, and (2) two arm members that extend downwardly from respective edges of said web portion of said top rail; and (c) said bottom rail comprises a channel member having (1) an elongate 29 web portion of uniform width affixed to a floor, and (2) two arm members that extend upwardly from respective edges of said web portion of said bottom rail.

10. A partition wall as defined in claim 9, in which one of said wall studs abuts against and is attached to a pre-existing wall, whereby said partition wall extends from said pre-existing wall.

11. A partition wall as defined in claim 9 or claim 10, including a door frame in said partition wall.

12. A partition wall as defined in claim 9, claim 10 or claim 11, including a window panel mounted on adjacent wall studs of said partition wall; said window panel having a respective window panel channel member at each side thereof, each window panel channel member having two planar arm members connected by a respective web member; each web member of a window panel channel member having an outer surface that defines a respective side edge of said window panel; further characterised in that; a) a pane of glass is supported between said arm members of said window panel channel members; b) a respective planar flange extends into said partition wall, at right angles to the plane of said pane of glass, from the edge of each arm member of said window panel that is remote from its associated web member, and c) the window panel is mounted on two wall studs of said partition wall by at least two mounting brackets, as defined in any one of claims 1 to 3, each positioned on a respective face of each arm 30 member of the window panel from which said planar flange extends, between said planar flange and the upper end of its associated window panel channel member.

13 A partition wall as defined in claim 12, in which 1. two horizontal channel members define, respectively, the top and bottom of said window panel; 2. each of said horizontal channel members has two arm members connected by a respective web member having an outer surface which defines, respectively, the top and bottom edges of said window panel; 3. said pane of glass is supported between said arm members of said two horizontal channel members of said window panel; and 4. a respective planar flange extends into said partition wall, at right angles to the plane of said pane of glass, from the edges of the arm members of said horizontal channel member that are remote from their associated web member.

14. A partition wall as defined in claim 12 or claim 13, in which each of said planar flanges extends inwardly, at right angles to the plane of said pane of glass, for a distance such that, when two such window panels are mounted in corresponding positions on opposed side arms of a pair of adjacent wall studs of said partition wall, the inner edges of said rectangular flanges abut, or almost abut against each other.

15. A partition wall as defined in claim 9, claim 10 or claim 11, including a window panel; said window panel comprising a rectangular window frame with a pane of glass therein; said window panel being mounted on two wall studs of said partition wall by at least two mounting brackets, as 31 defined in any one of claims 1 to 3, affixed to said window frame.

16. A partition wall as defined in claim 15, in which said pane of glass is mounted on a sub-frame of said window frame, and said sub-frame is attached to said window frame by hinges.

17. A partition wall as defined in any one of claims 9 to 16, in which, for each wall panel that is mounted on the arms of a selected pair of adjacent wall studs, a wall panel of the same dimensions is mounted on the other arms of said selected pair of adjacent wall studs, in a corresponding position, and the space between said wall panels mounted on said selected pair of adjacent wall studs contains at least one batt of an insulating material.

18. A mounting bracket as defined in claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.

19.. A partition wall as defined in claim 4 or claim 5, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this twenty-eighth day of June 2012, RUDOLF EDGAR MORITZ by his Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE