GB2168448A

GB2168448A - Jointing device

Info

Publication number: GB2168448A
Application number: GB08530359A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Percy Dipino
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-12-13
Filing date: 1985-12-10
Publication date: 1986-06-18
Also published as: GB8431566D0; GB8530359D0

Abstract

A jointing device comprises two tubes 10, 11, each having openings at both ends, the tubes being connected together at one end over a part of their peripheries in such a manner that both ends of each tube remain accessible. A number of jointing devices may be used to form a framework from a number of rods 15a, 15b by inserting the rod ends within the tubes. The ends of adjacent rods may overlie each other and be secured together by a fastener 18a. Alternatively, the ends of the rods may each be aligned with the inner ends of the tubes. Covering material (eg mesh) may be applied to the framework and alternative jointing device configurations are also disclosed. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Jointing device This invention relates to a jointing device, particularly for enabling the construction of frameworks.

There are many occasions when it is desirable to produce a framework which can be used as a frame for constructing structures.

One such type of structure is a cage for animals, particularly for pets, which is often constructed from a wooden framework which has wire netting covering the framework on one or more sides, any remaining sides being covered with other material such as plywood.

If a good steady frame is to be made out of wood, the services of a skilled carpenter are required. As a result, the end product may be so expensive as not to be economical, or an inferior product of very limited life may be substituted.

The present invention seeks to provide a jointing device which can enable good quality frames to be constructed by unskilled personnel and also to provide a method of constructing a framework which can be carried out by unskilled labour.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a jointing device comprises two tubes, each having openings at both ends, the tubes being connected together at one end over a part of their peripheries in such a manner that both ends of each tube remain accessible.

The tubes may be connected together such that their axes make any desired angle to each other. Thus, for example, the axes may be at right angles to each other or may form a straight line. Alternatively, the axes of the tubes may be arranged to be parallel to each other but offset.

In one preferred form, a tube of the jointing device has an attachment member (e.g. a plate) externally hinged thereto, the hinge axis extending longitudinally of the tube.

The tubes may have any desired cross section but will usually be either square or circular. More than two tubes may be connected together. Where three tubes are used, these may be connected so as to form a "T" joint.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of constructing a framework from a plurality of jointing devices as referred to above and a plurality of rods of similar cross-section to the tubes of the devices, wherein the ends of the rods are inserted into the tubes of the devices to an extent (a) such that in at least one (preferably each) device an end of one rod closely approaches an end of another rod and (b) such as to permit access to at least one said end.

Preferably an end of one said rod extends through a tube and overlies the end of another rod inserted into an adjacent tube.

To make a square or rectangular frame, four jointing devices comprising two tubes connected with their axes at right angles are used, one for each corner, four rods of appropriate length being used to form the side members of the frame.

With a frame produced in this way, the frame can then be covered with a relatively flexible material which may be attached not only to the main run of the rods but also at the corners by attaching it, for example, to the ends of the rods which are accessible through the open ends of the tubes or (as preferred) to the side of the one rod extending wholly therethrough.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rectangular frame made of wood and wire mesh using jointing devices according to the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view to an enlarged scale of a corner joint of the frame; Figure 3 is a similar view to that of Fig. 2 but showing an alternative arrangement; Figure 4 is a perspective view of a "T" joint of the frame of Fig. 1 also to a larger scale; Figure 5 is a similar view to that of Fig. 4 but showing an alternative arrangement; Figure 6 is a perspective view of a connecting joint of the frame of Fig. 1 also to a larger scale; Figure 7 is a similar view to that of Fig. 6 but showing an alternative arrangement;; Figure 8 is a perspective view of a wood and wire mesh cage formed in accordance with the invention; Figure 9 is a similar view to that of Fig. 8 but showing an alternative arrangement; Figure 10 is a perspective view to an enlarged scale of a jointing device used for making a corner in the cage; Figure 71 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but showing a "T" type jointing device; Figure 12 is a perspective view of another joint according to this invention; and Figure 13 is a schematic side view of a frame incorporating joints shown in Fig. 13.

Referring firstly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a rectangular frame 1 with two short sides 2 and two long sides 3. Three different forms of jointing device in accordance with the invention are used in constructing the frame 1. These comprise four corner devices 4, shown in more detail in Fig.

2, two "T" joint devices 5, shown in more detail in Fig. 4, and four connecting devices 6, shown in more detail in Fig. 6. The frame 1 is covered with a sheet of wire mesh 17.

Fig. 2 shows a corner joint using a corner jointing device 4. This device 4 comprises two square cross section metal (eg. steel) tubes 10 and 11, open at both ends and connected together at one of their sides 14 at right angles so that the axes of the tubes 10, 11 are at right angles to each other. To make this particular jointing device, a length of square section metal tube, twice the length of the single tubes 10 and 11 is cut in the middle around three of its sides and a bend is formed in the fourth side. Wooden battens or rods 15, suitably of square cross section with slightly smaller dimensions than the interior dimensions of the tubes 10 and 11, are pushed into the tubes 10 and 11 so that the ends 16 of the rods are aligned with the inner ends of the tubes.Once all joints have been assembled, wire mesh 17 is fastened, e.g. by stapling as shown at 18, both to the main parts of the rods 15 and also to the ends 16 of the rods 15 which, because of the construction of the tubes 10 and 11, are accessible.

Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 3, the horizontal batten 15a extends wholly through tube 10 to overlie the end of the vertical batten 15b. The two battens 15a, 15b can be nailed or screwed to one another by a single vertical nail or screw 18a. The wire mesh 17 is then attached (by staples 18) in one plane to the battens 15a,15b without needing to be bent round at the corners as is necessary in the arrangement of Fig. 2. Optionally, the nail or screw 1 8a may be omitted, the batten interconnection being effected solely by the mesh 17 and staples 18 in the corner.

Fig. 4 shows the construction of a "T" joint 5. In this case, the jointing device comprise three metal tubes 21, 22 and 23. The axes of the tubes 21 and 22 form a straight line while the axis of the third tube 23 is at right angles to this straight line. The method of constructing this joint is exactly the same as for the corner joint as shown in Fig. 2, three wooden battens or rods 15 being used instead of 2.

The wire mesh 17 is attached by staples 18 to all three rods 15 at their ends 16.

Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 5, the "T" joint can comprise a single metal tube 23a to encompass the upright rod 15c, one end of the tube having oppositely directed metal flanges 21a, 22a provided with holes through which screws can be inserted to attach the "T" joint's tube 23a to a single rod 15d extending wholly across the end of the upright rod 15c. The wire mesh 17 can thus be attached in a single plane to the frame in the vicinity of this "T" joint and without bending it to conform to the gap between adjacent tubes 21, 22 and 23 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 shows a straight connector 6. This jointing device is formed of two tubes 31 and 32 connected together by a straight portion 33 so that the axes of both tubes lie on the same straight line while permitting the ends 16 of the rods 15 to be still accessible. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 7, the two ends of the rods 15 can extend wholly through the tubes 31, 32 and abut one another at 15e.

Fig. 8 shows how the invention can be applied to the construction of a cage. In this case, different jointing devices are used because it is necessary to connect rods in two planes. Otherwise, the construction of the devices and their methods of use are the same.

The form of the corner jointing devices 50 are shown in Fig. 10. These comprise three tubes 51 connected at right angles to each other to accomodate three rods 15f, 1 sag and 15h, one of which (15h) extends wholly through its tube 51. Fig. 11 shows the "T" type jointing devices 53 which comprise four tubes 54, two of which are connected in a straight line and the remaining two are connected at right angles both to each other and to the two tubes which are aligned.

Alternatively two separate single tube "T" joint devices (as described above and shown in Fig. 5) may be used with their flanges screwed to adjacent faces of the longer batten or rod 15 so that the axes of the two tubes are at right angles to one another (see Fig. 9). Also, as shown in Fig. 9, the parallelepiped frame may incorporate four devices 53 at one frame end to provide for subsequent extension thereto.

It will be noted that where a rod can be pushed into a tube to such an extent that it extends out of the tube at both sides, the mesh or other covering can be attached solely to the sides of the rods instead of also to the ends.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, any desired cross-section of rod and tube can be used. Thus for certain purposes, circular section rods and tubes could be used.

The jointing devices can be made of any suitable material depending on their use. Thus they could be made of a metal, such as steel, or a plastics material. They may be made of sheet metal, by cutting and bending, or be moulded or cast or be made from preformed tubes bent and/or welded together. Various numbers of tubes can be used in various different configurations. For example, it is not necessary that the axes of the tubes form right angles; any other angles may be used as required by the framework being produced.

Offset arrangements of the tubes could be used so as to enable, for example, two rods to lie parallel to each other in the same jointing device. Where a structure is to be built of a number of frame works or frames, connecting devices could be provided for connecting two jointing devices together.

An example of the latter is illustrated in Fig.

13 in which a mesh-covered, rectangular framework 55 is provided with an aperture defined by two parallel, spaced apart, elongate frame members 56 connected to two parallel, spaced apart transverse frame members 57 by four jointing devices as shown in Fig. 5.

Another rectangular mesh-covered framework 58 fits within the aperture in framework 55 and similarly comprises two parallel, spaced apart, elongate frame members 59 connected to two parallel, spaced apart, transverse frame members. The two ends of one of the elongate frame members 59 are connected to the two transverse frame members of frame 58 by jointing devices as shown in Fig. 2. The two ends of the other elongate frame member 59 are connected to the two transverse frame members of frame 58 by jointing devices 60 as shown in Fig. 12. The latter comprises two tubes 10, 11 as the jointing device of Fig. 2 but, in addition, is provided with an apertured flat plate 61 hingedly attached to the tube 11.

Preferably, as shown, the hinge axis 62 is located externally of tube 11 at its edge remote from tube 10 and is directed parallel to the axis of tube 11. The plate 61 is fastened (by screws or nails) to the adjacent frame member 57 to provide a door, constituted by the framework 58, for framework 55.

The rods or battens may also be made of materials other than wood. For example, they could be made from plastics materials. The connection between the rods and tubes could be of any desired form. Such possibilities extend from a purely sliding fit to the use of adhesives or the use of fasteners e.g. nails which pass through both the tubes and the rods.

The frameworks constructed in accordance with the invention may be used for any suitable structures. The coverings may be flexible, as described, or may, in part or in whole, be relatively rigid. It is also possible to make up frameworks using only some of the jointing devices as described here, other joints being formed using known jointing devices. However, in this context it should be borne in mind that it is of particular advantage that corner joints be made using the present devices since this provides a good connection at the corners which are otherwise often the weak points of a structure.

Claims

1. A jointing device comprising two tubes, each having openings at both ends, the tubes being connected together at one end over a part of their peripheries in such a manner that both ends of each tube remain accessible.

2. A jointing device according to Claim 1, wherein the tubes are connected together such that their axes make any desired angle to each other.

3. A jointing device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the axes of the tubes are at right angles to one another.

4. A jointing device according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the axes of the two tubes form a straight line.

5. A jointing device according to Claim 1, wherein the axes of the tubes are offset from and parallel to one another.

6. A jointing device according to any preceding Claim, wherein a tube of the jointing device has an attachment member externally hinged thereto.

7. A jointing device according to Claim 6, wherein the hinge axis extends longitudinally of the tube provided with said attachment member.

8. A jointing device according to any preceding Claim, wherein the tubes are of square cross-section.

9. A jointing device according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the tubes are of circular cross-section.

10. A jointing device according to any preceding Claim, comprising three said tubes so as to form a "T" joint.

11. A jointing device substantially as herein described with reference to and/or as illustrated in Fig. 2 or Fig. 4 or Fig. 6 or Fig. 10 or Fig. 11 or Fig. 12 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A method of constructing a framework from a plurality of jointing devices according to any one of the preceding Claims, and a plurality of rods of similar cross-section to the tubes of the devices, wherein the ends of the rods are inserted into the tubes of the devices to an extent (a) such that in at least one (preferably each) device an end of one rod closely approaches an end of another rod and (b) such as to permit access to at least one said end.

13. A method according to Claim 12, wherein an end of one said rod extends through a tube and overlies the end of another rod inserted into an adjacent tube.

14. A method according to Claim 12 and substantially as herein described.

15. A technique for constructing a cage, comprising constructing a plurality of frameworks by a method according to any one of Claims 12 to 14, covering the frameworks with mesh, and connecting the mesh-covered frameworks to one another.

16. A technique according to Claim 15, wherein the frameworks are connected to one another by jointing devices according to any one of Claims 1 to 11.

17. A technique according to Claim 15 and substantially as herein described.