GB2548326A - Manufacturing metal support brackets - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of forming support brackets for roof membranes or secondary walls by extruding a generally flat metal ribbon of continuous cross-sectional profile and comprising a plurality of mortises 11 and tenons 12; cutting the ribbon to length; forming fixing features, such as holes, slots or tongues; and then bending it around an axis transverse to the major plane of the ribbon, to reduce concentrated compressive or tensile loads between the bracket and the member to which it is attached. The brackets are L shaped, U shaped or Z shaped, or a combination of these shapes. The brackets may be made of aluminium.

Description

j^ari^fac^uilBa yeM Siies^ri Bmckete iBveniGii rglSlBS lo fBsial auppcst prackets particularly, Put net ©Milusii^ly, of the type used M seetHl secoBdsry wall or roof rnemirepeis fe> feuiding stectume Irtcfuding ee^y Putit stujstufes or older strueiurag fBEjiiidog increased therrBal insuiaiofi,

Meial prackeis for the fepeioiBg puipdses are usually made ten either galvanised shiei steel of extrudei atuitiluiuni, each of which has adyanlsges and disad¥anta§es over ihe otheh ^afyanised sheet steel is easily lofmed into any required shape hy bending or rolling hut such processes are, by deiniion, relatively sirnple as ίο form and tmclionallty. On the other hand, extruded alumihiiirh brackets can be very lotncais in cross-seciton to Include sbarpiy defined tenons and mortises or ither such features enabling the bracket to be connected to correspondingly shaped leatures of stfuclures, such as support bars, fomilhg pad of a grid for suppsring wall and roof membranes above an existing structure. Hence, aihough roll formed galvanised sheet ^eel is reiatively cheap, there are lirnits to the shapes that can be rnade u^ng such technique. On th# other hand, aih©u|h extruded alyrnlniurn profiles can be; of very fntncdte ani accurate shape it will be appareni that each shape of profile requires an individual die and since there are typtciily at least three stepes of brocket used to support building wail and roof membranes, these b©Bii "t.”, "U-or "I” shaped, it follows that Ih© adv^iilages of using extruded aiurninlurn for such purpose can be offset by the cosi of the tooling fbr each shape, parlicuiariy f aironge of^ bracket sizes is: required for each^ shape..

The p:fesent Invention is; derived from the realisafion that there is a; need: for a simpter system whicti embodies tee advantages of using ejctejded mitei suoli as aluminium whilst aieptlng the simpildty of bfacket manuteeturer using terming techniques commoriiy used te make hrackete Item gatvaoised sheet Steel.

AeGording to a first aspect of the Invention there is provided a ntethod of formlii| support bradcete of «arSous shapes from a extrusion having a singte cross-sedlonal profile, the method tectuding the steps el exiruding a ienerally flat rihhon of metal having a piuraliiy of tenons and mortises intd or onto which bracket fittings may be slldeably ixed, cuiirii the ribbon to a required Ιοη|ίίι. terming any required ixihg teature, such as holes, siots of tongues, and th@F@afler bending & transverse te tee ma|or plane of tee Flbfeon to term any lequlFed Shipe of braoitet or part of bracket whereby to permit the smooth IrariSter of compressive or tenslie loads between the finished bf^sket and the or each member to which it is fixed, such as an existing structere and a mulilpn supporting a wall or roof membrane.

With this arfangerniht, onty one set of iooling is requsied te term an extRidsd rilbpn having an extremely pFeclse profile to inciude morPses and tenons, but the exiruded; ribbon can then be used to term various shapes cf bradiet or parts of bracket by simply cutting ahd bending as reqatfed, ea«te shipe having Idenical Gross-secflonai profiles. This is not only simpler and more cost etellve to manufectufe than using sepafate tooling to Isdrude each part of a set of dlfforentiy shaped hracatels but i also afiows ter less materiai to be used without cxjmpfomising the integrity of the finished bracket

Acootoingiy, a seoond aspect of the invetiion prtwides a braGto made in accorcianc© «ϋϊ t\m methoci ©f te first asp^ of {p^ieniiofi, ti© foraekat feaing any of g©n©rally Ί” siip©;, "Ij" sbap© or "Z** #ape transvars© te 11¾¾^ mafor axis ©f file ekfriiiecl ribbon or any siiitalii combifiation of tb©s© shapes.

AocoPdlnf to a tbird aspact ©f th© invefillon th©f© Is ptovidsd a ribbon of metai for footing into part or ail of a support biipffoi, the nbbon havisg a plurality of tenons and mortises.

The Imiention will now be desedbed, by way of exampfo bnly, with reference to the aciaarnpanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a prior art bracket system for securing a constructionai etement info or against a vertical wall stfuctorBj

Figure 2 shows the profile of an extruded nbbon of alymlnium aecording to the invention,

Figure 3 shows a pian view of a cut ien|th of the nbbon of Figure 1 having various fixing featyres formed therein,

Figure 4 shows a side view of a twc'^fece braeket assembly lor supporting an extruded aluminium muliion,

Figure i is a front view erf the bracket asseniblf of FiHuie 4, and Figure § is a front view of s bracket asaefnbly of the type generally shown in Figure 4 but instead conneefod fogether by means of mortises and tenons.

Referring firstly to Figure 1 foefe Is shown a seslional view of a prior art bracket assembly supplied by l^iope Rainscse^ %stems tJd shewR geherally al 1 for securing a muilion 2 to a vertical waif 3 wih threaded fesfenem 4. The bracket assembly 1 Gomprlses a generally ”l-’’febaped aluminium exiruslon S having formed on its upper aurtace a tongue 6 for receiving part of the muion 2. iliiaiieci iri tie position shown fey a threailet jM@ner 7. Tie feracket assemfefy 1 also ineiodes rneahanical support in tla ΙρύΏ of a aildealiy fnouniBd Ifilennedisie support arm 8 iliei suppoflid: fey a tover bra^ei foot portioh 9 seou^d to tie wall 3. will fee apparent, this arrangement provides me^Hanloal stability for supporting the mulllon 2 bui also requlms the us© of three separata axtmsion dies for exifuding the upper, infermadiate and iowar pifis S, i, 9 of the braotal assernfely 1, with attendant Issues ponce msng the cost and compieKity of Sicing tha arrangernent, as well as tha iimiied use to which the bracket assemfety 1 can fea pul

The present invenion seeks to avoid the foregOfng problems and disadvanfespes of the priOf art fey adppiog m altematk^i: arrangement as Is shown In Figure 2 In whieh there Is shown an and view ot a g©nafa!|y flat ribbon of aiuffiinlyro 10 having a profile whirm Includes mprilses 11 arid tenons 12 permitting slideabte Intedocking eniagement with other building elements (not The tenons 12 and mortises 11 also server to provide r^ld% for the ribbon 1 i fey efieciwaly acting m corfugailons within it.

Figure i shows a out length ei ribbon 1Qa into whlfeh his been puiiGhed or oiierwi^ iirmed a vah@ty # aperlures In the form of feotes 14 andeiofo 15 as Wi^l as a pair of upstanding tongues 16 for sfideably receiving a planar component, such as part of an extruded aluminium multlon (n^ sfec^^n). A centrally disposed slot 17 is provided as a means to InjtensorineGt with anothef component in the rrsinneF as shown in Figuri 4, where the rlbboh Ifea srf Figure 3 is shown partially beni iferough Sfe* to form a geneiafly *'L" upper bracket poripn 18 connectafele wth a generally W- section lovi®r femctet porf on 10 havifil the sseie eiirudeil profile, this conoeelioR m means # a Isckint head 2§ Intredoeed irlp the eentrally disposecf aipt 17 sho\?iin in Figure 3 {nitiaii|i aiodg its m^Qr axis befere the head 20 is Wsted throogh 90^ M tie pasiien shov®, seen snoie cieaty In Figure 3. The leading edge of a geneiail^ Τ' sepSofi extruded aiuminiuiii mujlion |nc>t sho«m) can tee slideabiy feserted uddef the teigues 10 '#iieh Include eapiure Ibrmaidns sueh saw-loeii ridges (net shdwril pre^/enilng or inhiteiting Femo^ai of the muliion aliewng it to slide alofig is rnalor axis of the rhullian la response to e.g. thermai es^ansfon or Gontracifen.

In an alternativs arrangerriehl sho«rn with leifeferioe to Figure i, the lower biacket memfeer 19a is cohheiied lo the upper braefe^ meroteer 18a the use of tenoiis 21 slideably received within the mortises 22 of the upper teiaciet portion 18a su^ that, uhfe the arrangerrrerit shown in Figufes 4 and $, in whfeh their respective positions relative to each other are ixed by the presenr® of tie locking head 20 and retaining slot If, tie iowr liracket portion 19a is instead sfideable benealfi the upper bracket portion 18a to any nsguired position, where i can be i*ai, if fequlred, by any suit:^le tastener irneartS.

Thus, itwiil be seen th^ the extruded Hfeho 10 can be used lo mate one or several piece bracked where, after suitabte bending, the rnorfees 12 and tenons 11 can be used to slideably secyre thereto a buiMing etement or other bfBc^t eiemert: or, as in the case of im braote assembly sbchvn w8h reference to Fifures 4 and i, their use in such a manner may be dispensed ^h In favour if aited-polnt meehanicatixiniio ferm a two piece brarietassBmWy 18,19, in whicb tie niortises 12 and tenons 11 only sefve the purpose of providing rigidity to tie dbtQR 10. Tills, liiglily fleMibte, arrangeitient can be contfasted: wih prior art sysiems where brackets of differsht sf aoe requte a variety of differently shaped extroslons and attendant tooling which, In turn, increases the overall cost and the requirement for manulaciurers of such brackets to stock a corresponding variety of differentiy piofiled extrusions, one for each bracket or part; of each bracket. Thus, by recognising that a relatively simply-shaped aluminium extryslon in geherally flat form but having ionons and mortises for optional use can be bent tfansverse to its major axis in the manner of galvanised sheet steel, the manufacluring cost for producing a range of differently shaped brackets Is much lower without Gompromising the strength of the various brackets made therewith.

Claims (5)

1. €iaims % ^ ϊΐϊΛ<3£ΐ ef fyppart braefeis of mmo% shap^ from a metti iifcfpalip: i slr^li cFQss-seciionai prsfRte, tie irs#hod inbluiJing li# staps €9#udlng a ganeraliy Hat nfcfeoa ©f melal teing a piyra% of tenons and mortises Into or onto whiob ferpcket fliings may be slitieably oyilng the ribbon to a regyirnd ieriglh, Arming any raguired filing featoFe, suoh as botes, slots or tongues, and llereaief banding it transyerse to the rnaidr plan© of Ibi ribbon to form any fogulied shape of brasiiet or pari of bFacket wheroby Id permit the smooth transfer of compfesslv'e or iensile loads between the inlshed braoket and the or each mernfeer to yihich it Is fiked, such as an existing stryoture and a: m y ilion sy pporting a waff or roof m emB rane.
2. 2. ^ support brackef made In aocordamte v»th the method of ihs fjr^ aspect of the Invention, the braeket being or indydlng any of generafiy "1:“ Shape, ”U" shape or shape transverse to toe mafer axis of the extoided ribbon or ariy suitabie Gombination of these shapes.
3. 3. A method of forming a sypport brai^ei substadiialy as hereinbefore desofibecii
4. 4. A bracket made in aooordance vato toe mi^od as hemlttoefore described.
5. 5. ^h extruded ribbon Pi metal haviog a pturality of tenoris and mortises substohially as descdfeed vito reforenoe to Rpm 2.