AU726009B2 - Connector plate and method of assembly - Google Patents

Description

WO 98/09029 PCT/AU97/00541 -1- CONNECTOR PLATE AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the manufacture of wooden structures such as roof and floor trusses, where structural members such as webs and chords are attached by means of metal connector plates, consisting of plates from which have been struck a pattern of projecting teeth which are driven into the members to effect the joint. The invention also relates to connector plates for use in the manufacture of such members. The invention is particularly applicable to the location and attachment of webs to chords in the manufacture of wooden roof trusses.

BACKGROUND ART Various procedures are used in the assembly and fixing of trusses. In one approach, the chords are laid out and connected, then the webs are positioned and stapled to the chords to maintain their position while connector plates are applied successively to each side of each joint. The plates are driven home by pressing. The need for a stapling operation at each joint adds to the assembly time, as does the positioning of the underneath plate, for example by the use of a jig or frame device, or by temporarily locating the underneath plate by means of a hammer.

The latter technique has the further disadvantage that teeth may be bent, reducing the quality of the joint.

Attempts have been made to reduce the time involved in WO 98/09029 PCT/AU97/00541 -2truss manufacture by attaching the connector plates to components of the truss prior to their assembly with the other components. For example, International patent application No. PCT/FI91/00104 describes an approach in which the plates for one side of the truss are pre-attached to the webs, while the plates for the other side of the truss are pre-attached to the chords. Such a method is of limited usefulness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention seeks to provide an alternative approach, which enables the plates for both sides of the joint to be pre-attached to each end of a web, while still enabling the webs to be brought into position in the truss without difficulty, prior to pressing of the joint.

This is achieved by providing the nail plates with at least one, but preferably several, teeth of greater length than the remainder of the plate teeth, these longer teeth being located only in the region of the plate which is to be attached to one of the joint members, preferably the web.

In this way, plates can be attached to the web ends by pressing the plates into position, the press driving only the longer teeth into the web. The opposed ends of the teeth of the portion of each plate which extends -beyond the end of the web will thus still be separated by at least the thickness of the chord to which the web is to be attached, so the web can be brought into position for fixing to the chord without these teeth fouling the chord and thereby obstructing movement of the web.

Of course, while it is preferred to pre-attach the WO 98/09029 PCT/AU9700541 -3plates to the webs, they may instead be pre-attached in the same way to the chords at the correct joint positions and the webs then brought into position with their ends between the projecting opposed pre-fixed plates.

The invention will be exemplified below in its application to roof trusses, but it is tobe understood that it is applicable to other structural assemblies of wooden components, such as floor trusses.

The accompanying drawings illustrate, by way of example only, the application of the invention to the manufacture of roof trusses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of a connector plate according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the connector plate of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 illustrates a connector plate pre-fixed to a web; Fig. 4 illustrates a connector plate according to a second embodiment of the invention prefixed to a first member; and Fig. 5 illustrates the connector plate of Fig. 4 in a first stage of temporary fixing to a second member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the connector plate 10 is provided, in a conventional manner, with rows of teeth 11 struck out from the plate leaving apertures 12.

WO 98/09029 PCT/AU97/00541 -4- The manner of formation and the pattern of these teeth may be of any suitable kind.

At four locations on the left hand portion of the plate (as viewed in Figs. 1 and a longer tooth 13 is formed by punching from a longer aperture 14. In this way, as illustrated in Fig. 3, a pair of the plates 10 may be attached to an end of a web 15 by driving the longer teeth 13 into the web, but stopping short of the point where the shorter, conventional teeth 11 penetrate the web.

The web can then be introduced with a rotational movement into a truss so that the opposed free ends of the pre-attached plates embrace the chord 16, shown in ghost outline in Fig. 3, and the joint subsequently formed by pressing the plates in any conventional manner.

The plate 10 illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is provided with four long teeth 13, one approximately at each corner of the region of the plate to be engaged with the web. This is but one example of a suitable pattern of location of the longer teeth. They may, for example, all be located at the rear of the plate, or towards the middle, or along one or both sides.

The location of the longer teeth is entirely a matter of choice. Similarly, the number of longer teeth may be chosen to suit the convenience of the application to which the plate is to be put, and to enable efficient production of the plates. While it is possible to use only one longer tooth, a greater number is preferred to give stability to the prefixing of the plate. It is also preferred in the interests of stability that longer teeth are located both at the rear and the forward parts of the relevant region of the plate.

WO 98/09029 PCT/AU97/00541 Connector plates according to the invention can be employed at joints between more than two members, for example where two or three webs are connected to a chord at the same location.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a further development of the invention, in which the second portion of the plate is provided with a number of teeth the length of which is intermediate that of the longer teeth provided for the pre-fixing of the first portion of the plate, and that of the conventional teeth 11.

This plate enables the elimination of separate means, such as stapling, for the temporary fixing of the web 15 in its correct position in conjunction with the chord 16, prior to the pressing of the joint. The plates 10 (only one of which is shown here) are pre-fixed to the web 15 by pressing them only by a distance which does not exceed the difference between the length of the teeth 13 and the teeth 17. At this stage the teeth 11 will be proud of the surface of the web, and the teeth 17 will not obstruct the engagement of the web with the chord, as the chord enters the space between the opposed free ends of the plates.

The plates can then be engaged with the chords by driving the intermediate teeth 17 into the chord, for example by means of a hammer blow, prior to the final pressing of the joint.

It will be understood that the principles disclosed in this specification can be applied to connector plates and connector plate joints in wooden-structures in many ways other than those given by way of example.

Claims (16)

1. A connector plate of the kind consisting of a metal plate from which has been struck a pattern of projecting teeth which are driven into respective wooden members to effect a permanent joint between said members, said pattern of teeth including a first region of the plate intended for engagement with one of said members and a second region of the plate intended for engagement with a second of said members, characterised in that at least one further tooth is provided in said first region which is longer than the remainder of the teeth in that region and longer than each of the teeth in said second region.

2. A connector plate according to claim 1 including a plurality of such further teeth.

3. A connector plate according to claim 2 in which some of said further teeth are located in that part of the first region remote from the second region, and some of said further teeth are located in that part of the first region adjacent the second region.

4. A connector plate according to claim 1 in which at least one additional tooth is ,•.provided in said second region having a length which is intermediate the length of said further teeth in said first region and the remainder of the teeth in said second region.

5. A connector plate according to claim 4, including a plurality of such teeth of intermediate length.

A method of forming a joint between a first and a second wooden member employing a connector plate according to claim 1, including the steps of attaching said plate to said first member by the penetration of the first member with said at least one further tooth to a depth which does not require the penetration of the first member by the remaining teeth in said first region, locating the first and second members in the relative positions in which they are to be joined, and causing the penetration of said first and second members by the remaining teeth of said first region and the teeth of said second region.

7. A method according to claim 6 in which a plate is employed on each side of the joint, the first region of each plate being attached to the first member.

8. A method of forming a joint between a first and a second wooden member employing a connector plate according to claim 4, including the steps of attaching said plate to said first member by the penetration of the first member with said at least one further tooth in said first region to a depth which does not require the penetration of the first member by the remaining teeth in said first region, locating the first and second members in the relative positions in which they are to be joined, attaching said plate to said second member by the penetration of the second S• member with said at least one additional tooth of intermediate length in said •"second region to a depth which does not require the penetration of the second member by the remaining teeth in said first region, and causing the penetration of said first and second members by the remaining S. teeth of said first region and the remaining teeth of said second region.

9. A method according to claim 8 in which a plate is employed on each side of the joint, the first region of each plate being attached to the first member. g.

A structure including at least first and second wooden members and a connector plate forming a permanent joint between said first and second members, said connector plate consisting of a metal plate from which has been struck a pattern of projecting teeth which are driven into respective of said wooden members to effect said permanent joint between said members, said pattern of teeth including a first region of the plate which engages said first member and a second region of the plate which engages with said second member, wherein at least one further tooth is provided in said first region which is longer than the 8 remainder of the teeth in that region and longer than each of the teeth in said second region.

11. A structure according to claim 10 wherein said connector plate includes a plurality of said further teeth.

12. A structure according to claim 11 in which some of said further teeth are located in that part of the first region remote from the second region, and some of said further teeth are located in that part of the first region adjacent the second region.

13. A structure according to claim 10 in which at least one additional tooth is provided in said second region having a length which is intermediate the length of said further teeth in said first region and the remainder of the teeth in said second region.

14. A structure according to claim 13, including a plurality of said additional teeth. So

15. A structure according to claim 10 wherein a said connector plate is employed on each side of the joint, the first region of each plate being attached to the first member.

16. A structure according to any of claims 10 to 15 wherein said first and second members are respectively a web and a chord of a roof truss. o Dated this 28th day of August, 2000 Co-Ordinated Constructions Pty Limited By their Patent Attorneys HALFORD CO.