AU784904B2 - Prefabricated timber wall frames and wall panels - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPEC/F/CA T/ONFORA STANDARD PA TENT Name ofApp/icantL Actua//nventor(s).

Address for Service: AUSTRALIAN TIMBER TRUSSES PTY LTD AHEARN FOX Patent Trade Mark Attorneys GPO Box 1149 Brisbane Queensland 4001 *PREFABRICATED TIMBER WALL FRAMES AND WALL PANELS' Invention Til/e: The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: PREFABRICATED TIMBER WALL FRAMES AND WALL PANELS This invention relates to prefabricated timber wall frames and wall panels.

The invention has particular application to prefabricated timber wall frames and wall panels for dwelling house construction and for illustrative purposes reference will be made to such application. However, it will be appreciated that the invention could' be used in the construction of timber wall frames and wall panels for other types of buildings where such panels are suitable.

Prefabricated timber wall frames typically have a top plate, a bottom plate and a plurality of vertical studs extending between the top plate and the bottom plate which are secured thereto by nails or staples extending through the respective plates and into the ends of the vertical stud. The frames are typically stiffened by a plurality of noggings which extend between adjacent studs and are secured thereto by nails extending through the respective studs and into the ends of the noggings.

In order to facilitate the nailing process, the noggings are usually staggered alternately by at least the thickness of the nogging so that a pneumatic nailing gun can be easily accommodated and the nails can be fired through the studs and directly into the ends of the noggings. The top and bottom plates are typically secured to the vertical studs by nails fired therethrough into the ends of the respective studs by a pneumatic nailing gun.

Typically, the top and bottom plates are secured to the vertical studs by firing nails or staples in a direction away from the operator. However, in the case of noggings, in some instances, the operator must manually force the studs towards each other using one hand and his shoulder in order to ensure causl2101.wpd -2that the noggings abut both of the studs between which they areplaced and then fire the nail in a direction towards his body.

Such method of securing the noggings is less efficient and more dangerous than is desired.

The present invention is aimed at providing a method of constructing a timber wall frame which overcomes or at least ameliorates one or more of the aforementioned problems.

With the foregoing in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a timber wall frame, including: a top plate; a bottom plate spaced from said top plate; a plurality of spaced apart vertical studs connected at one of their respective ends to said top plate and at the other of their respective ends to said bottom plate, each of said studs having therethrough an aperture and said apertures being aligned and adapted to slidably receive therethrough a bracing member; and a bracing member extending through said apertures and secured to each of said studs.

In another aspect the invention resides broadly in a method of constructing a timber wall frame, including: selecting a top plate and a bottom plate; selecting a plurality of vertical studs, each stud having therethrough an aperture at a predetermined distance from one end and each of said apertures being adapted to receive therethrough a bracing member; selecting a bracing member adapted to slidably fit through said apertures; placing said top plate and said bottom plate on a construction bed in spaced apart relation; placing said vertical studs on the construction bed in spaced apart relation between said top stud and said bottom stud causl2101 .wpd with one of their respective ends abutting said top plate and the other of their respective ends abutting said bottom plate and with said apertures generally aligned; securing said top plate and said bottom plate to said vertical studs; sliding said bracing member through said aligned apertures; and securing said vertical studs to said bracing member at said respective apertures.

Preferably, said top and bottom plates are secured to said vertical studs by nails fired by a nailing gun in typical known manner with the nails being fired in a direction away from the operator. However, the invention advantageously allows said vertical studs to be secured to said bracing member with nails or staples also being fired in the direction away from the operator. Thus in a preferred form of the invention said vertical studs are secured to said bracing member by one or more nails or staples suitably fired by a nailing gun or stapling gun in a direction generally away from the operator of the gun.

Preferably, said bracing member and said apertures have a complementary cross-sectional shape. In a preferred form said apertures are rectangular in cross-section along the axis of alignment and the bracing member has a complementary crosssectional shape but of lesser height such that when the bracing member is located in the aligned apertures, a passage remains above or below the bracing member which can be used for the supply of services such as electricity and phone cables. In a preferred form of the invention the apertures are formed and the bracing member selected and fitted so that the passage remaining is above the bracing member when the wall frame is in use in its normal upright position.

Typically, the apertures are formed by an automatic milling causl2101.wpd -4or cutting machine and any suitable number of apertures may be formed in each stud spaced apart along its length. Thus, wall frames with any suitable number of parallel bracing members may be constructed. For example a wall frame may have one, two, three or even more bracing members fitted if additional strength is required or if the frames are for extra high walls.

Advantageously, the forming of a suitable aperture in each stud is believed not to significantly effect the strength of the studs and moreover the subsequent securement of the bracing member to the studs at their respective apertures is believed to return the studs to almost their original strength.

In yet another aspect the invention resides broadly in a timber wall frame constructed in accordance with the method previously described.

In yet another aspect the invention resides broadly in a wall panel including a timber wall frame constructed in accordance with the method previously described and a sheet of cladding material secured to one or both faces of said timber wall frame.

In still yet another aspect the invention resides broadly in a building including a plurality of timber wall frames as previously described, at least some of said wall frames abutting each other and being secured together.

The terms "vertical", "top", "bottom", and similar terms are used herein for the purpose of description and illustration of the invention in its normal in-use position and are not intended to limit use of the invention to any particular orientation or to restrict the method of construction to any particular orientation, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein; causl2101.wpd FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a typical prior art wall frame; FIG. 2 is a front elevation of a wall frame according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is an isometric view of part of the wall frame of Fig. 2 showing the mounting of the bracing member to the studs; FIG. 4 is a front elevation of another wall frame according to the present invention; and FIG. 5 is an isometric view of part of the wall frame of Fig. 4.

The prior art wall frame 10 illustrated in Fig. 1 includes a top plate 11, a bottom plate 12, five spaced apart vertical studs 13 to 17 extending between the top and bottom plates and staggered noggings 18 extending between adjacent studs and secured thereto by nails 19. The top plate and bottom plate are secured to the studs by nails 20 although it is possible to use staples instead of nails. The studs, the top and bottom plates and the noggings in this example are all 70mm x 35mm dressed pine but other sizes are also commonly used such as 90mm x 35mm, 120mm x 35mm and 140mm x 35mm, and hardwoods may be used instead of pine.

The wall frame 110 illustrated in Fig. 2 includes a top plate 111, a bottom plate 112, five spaced apart vertical studs 113 to 117, all of which are similar to the corresponding members in Fig. 1. However, wall frame 110 includes a bracing member 122 instead of the staggered noggings 18 shown in the prior art wall frame As can be more clearly seen in Fig. 3, each of the studs 113 to 117 has an aperture 123 provided therein which is adapted to receive therethrough the bracing member 122. In this particular embodiment of the invention, the bracing member is a pine rail causl2l01 .wpd which is sized to 70mm x 17mm while the aperture is 92mm x 19mm.

Thus it can be seen that the rail has a small amount of clearance at its sides to allow it to slide easily through the apertures but is sized to leave a space 125 which is 22mm high to provide for passage of services such as electricity cables, telephone cables and computer cables. In the embodiment of Fig. 2, all of the studs have an aperture 123 therein so that the rail can extend across the full width of the wall frame from the outside face of the opposite outermost stud 117 and can be fitted after the top and bottom plates are nailed to the studs.

The top and bottom plates are nailed to the studs in the same manner as in the prior art wall frame 10. However, the rail 122 is secured to each stud by two staggered nails 124 which are fired from one edge 125 of each stud through the portion 126 on the proximal side of the aperture and terminates in the distal portion 127 of the stud on the other side of the aperture.

In order to construct the wall frame, the top and bottom plates 111 and 112 are placed on a construction bed in spaced apart relation and the studs are placed therebetween with the apertures 123 aligned. The plates are then secured to the studs with nails fired by a pneumatic nailing gun in known manner. The rail is then slid into position through the apertures from the outermost stud and held in position against the bottom edge of the apertures so that the passage 125 remains above the rail. The operator then fires the nails 124 into the studs to secure the rail in position. It will be appreciated that the operator is able to fire the nails in a direction away from his body at all times.

The wall frame 210 illustrated in Fig. 4 is similar to that of Fig. 2 in many respects and the same numbers will be used to reference corresponding components but commencing with a "2" rather than a The main difference with the wall frame of causl2101.wpd Fig.4 is that the outermost studs 213 and 217 do not have an aperture 223 therein and consequently the rail does not extend through those studs. Rather, the rail abuts the respective innermost faces 213a and 217a of those studs at its opposite ends and they are secured to the rail by nails 229 (shown in full) which are fired through the respective studs into the adjacent end of the rail. It will be appreciated, that in order to construct the wall frame of Fig.4, the rail must be cut to length and fitted to the intermediate studs prior to securing at least one of the outermost studs. In this example, the inner studs are secured to the rail by staples 231(shown in full) which extend fully through the rail as with the nails mentioned in relation to wall frame 110.

The foregoing description has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention and many modifications and variations which will be apparent to persons skilled in the art may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

causl2101.wpd

Claims (18)

1. A timber wall frame, including: a top plate; a bottom plate spaced from said top plate; a plurality of spaced apart vertical studs connected at one of their respective ends to said top plate and at the other of their respective ends to said bottom plate, each of said studs having therethrough an aperture of generally rectangular cross section and said apertures being aligned and adapted to slidably receive therethrough a bracing member, and a bracing member extending through said apertures and secured to each of said studs, said bracing member being rectangular in cross-section and the height of said bracing member being substantially less than the height of said apertures and the width of said bracing member being slightly less than or equal to the width of said apertures and said bracing member being located in the uppermost or lowermost part of said aligned apertures thereby providing a passage above or below said bracing 0 member.

2. A timber wall frame according to Claim 1, wherein said .9e. bracing member is located in the lowermost part of said aligned apertures thereby providing a passage above said bracing member adapted to accommodate electricity or phone cables. 9

3. A timber wall frame according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said studs have a plurality of spaced apart apertures therethrough, the apertures of one stud being aligned with the ".50 apertures of an adjacent stud to form rows of apertures, and a plurality of bracing members extending through the rows of apertures respectively and secured to said studs.

4. A timber wall frame according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said vertical studs are secured to said bracing cAUS12101 arnd 20 February 2006 -9- member or bracing members by nails or staples.

A timber wall frame according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said top and bottom plates, said studs and said bracing member or bracing members are pine.

6. A method of constructing a timber wall frame, including: selecting a top plate and a bottom plate; selecting a plurality of vertical studs, each stud having therethrough an aperture at a predetermined distance from one end and each of said apertures being adapted to receive therethrough a bracing member; selecting a bracing member adapted to slidably fit through said apertures; placing said top plate and said bottom plate on a construction bed in spaced apart relation; placing said vertical studs on the construction bed in spaced apart relation between said top stud and said bottom stud with one of their respective ends abutting said top plate and the 0 other of their respective ends abutting said bottom plate and with said apertures generally aligned; securing said top plate and said bottom plate to said vertical studs and then sliding said bracing member through said aligned apertures and then securing said vertical studs to said bracing member at said respective apertures.

7. A method according to Claim 6, wherein said bracing member is rectangular in cross-section and the height of said bracing member is substantially less than the height of said apertures and the width of said bracing member is slightly less than or 9 9o equal to the width of said apertures and said bracing member is slid through said aligned apertures and located in the uppermost or lowermost part of said aligned apertures so as to provide a passage above or below said bracing member. cAUS12101 anid 20 February 2006

8. A method according to Claim 6 or claim 7 including securing said vertical studs to said bracing member with nails or staples.

9. A method according to Claim 8, wherein said nails or staples are fired from a nailing or stapling gun in a direction generally away from the operator.

A method according to any one of Claims 6 to 9, wherein said apertures are formed by an automatic milling or cutting machine.

11. A method according to any one of Claims 6 to 10, wherein each stud includes a plurality of spaced apart apertures adapted to be aligned in rows. 15

12. A method according to Claim 11, including selecting a plurality of bracing members adapted to slidably fit through said S. rows of apertures and sliding said bracing members through respective rows of aligned apertures; and securing said vertical studs to said bracing members at said respective apertures.

13. A method of constructing a timber wall frame as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs. 2 to

14. A timber wall frame constructed according to the method 25 defined by any one of Claims 6 to 13.

15. A timber wall frame as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

16., A wall panel which includes a timber wall frame defined by any one of Claims 1 to 5 or 14.

17. A wall panel which includes a timber wall frame defined by Claim 16 and a sheet of cladding material secured to one or both faces of said timber wall frame. cA US12101 amd 9 May 2006

18. A building including a plurality of timber wall frames as def ined by any one of Claims 1 to 5 and Claims 14 and 15, at least some of said wall frames abutting each other and being secured together. DATED THIS 9 TH DAY OF MAY 2006 AUSTRALIAN TIMBER TRUSSES PTY LTD 10 By their Patent Attorney s AHEAR N FOX cAUS121OI amd 9 May 2006