GB2554152A

GB2554152A - Supports for sheet materials

Info

Publication number: GB2554152A
Application number: GB1711073.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kershaw Anthony
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-07-14
Filing date: 2017-07-10
Publication date: 2018-03-28
Also published as: GB2552210A; GB201711073D0; GB201612251D0

Abstract

The temporary support comprises a flat strip 20 for engaging the underside of a joist 23, an arm 24 extending normally to the strip and having a projection 25 on one side providing a rest for supporting the edge of a sheet, the arm having a region 33 of reduced shear strength such that when the sheet has been fastened to the joists the portion of the support extending beneath the sheet is separable by applying a shearing force. The flat strip may have a hole 21 for a fixing 22. The arm may have a tab the opposite side to the projection for supporting the edge of the next sheet. The end of the arm may have a hinged wedging member 28 movable towards the sheet. The hinged wedging member may have a portion 30 which curves outwardly and downwardly relative to the flat strip, and a planar portion 29 extending between the arm and the curved portion. The sheets may be plasterboard. The temporary support may be integrally moulded plastics.

Description

(56) Documents Cited:

GB 2220458 A WO 2010/070268 A1 DE 019804930A1

EP 1882793 A2 CN 204418619 U US 20130255182 A1 (71) Applicant(s):

Anthony Kershaw

23a Westfield Avenue, North Greetwell, LINCOLN, LN2 4RD, United Kingdom (58) Field of Search:

INT CL E04F, E04G, F16M Other: EPODOC, WPI (72) Inventor(s):

Anthony Kershaw (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

LOVEN Patents & Trademarks Limited

Wragby Road, Sudbrooke, Lincoln, Lincolnshire,

LN2 2QU, United Kingdom (54) Title of the Invention: Supports for sheet materials

Abstract Title: Temporary support for mounting sheet materials on ceiling joists (57) The temporary support comprises a flat strip 20 for engaging the underside of a joist 23, an arm 24 extending normally to the strip and having a projection 25 on one side providing a rest for supporting the edge of a sheet, the arm having a region 33 of reduced shear strength such that when the sheet has been fastened to the joists the portion of the support extending beneath the sheet is separable by applying a shearing force. The flat strip may have a hole 21 for a fixing 22. The arm may have a tab the opposite side to the projection for supporting the edge of the next sheet. The end of the arm may have a hinged wedging member 28 movable towards the sheet. The hinged wedging member may have a portion 30 which curves outwardly and downwardly relative to the flat strip, and a planar portion 29 extending between the arm and the curved portion. The sheets may be plasterboard. The temporary support may be integrally moulded plastics.

FIG. 3

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FIG. 3

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FIG. 4

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FIG. 5

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FIG. 6

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FIG. 7

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FIG. 8

- 1 SUPPORTS FOR SHEET MATERIALS Field of the Invention

This invention relates to temporary supports for use in mounting sheet materials on downwardly facing members, for example ceiling joists.

Background to the Invention

The mounting of plasterboard on ceiling joists to form ceilings is a difficult operation, typically requiring a sheet of 2.4m x 1.2m to be accurately positioned and then supported while sufficient screws or other fixings are driven through the sheet to hold the sheet in position and permit the support to be removed while the remaining fixings are driven in to finalise the mounting. Plasterboard sheets of this size can weigh from around 23kg for 12.5mm thick boards to nearly 30kg for 15mm boards. Although props or the like can be used to hold the sheet in place during driving of the fixings, their use is often inconvenient, because positioning the props can be time-consuming, and the props can ob15 struct the working space. Often in practice the sheets will be held in place manually while the fixings are driven in to secure them, and this is potentially damaging to the people holding the sheet in place and can make accurate positioning of the sheet difficult.

Various proposals have been made for devices to assist in temporarily holding sheet materials in position while permanent fixing is carried out with screws or the like. For example, US2008/110107A1 discloses a supporting bracket that can be temporarily attached to a ceiling through an already installed sheet of plasterboard and used to guide and support the next sheet. The bracket has a fixed portion and a hinged portion to which a length of timber can be screwed to assist in pushing the sheet into place. US6364303B1 discloses a simple stepped bracket that can be temporarily fixed in place in different orientations to support a board in different locations. A swivel arrangement allows a portion of the bracket to be moved out of the way to allow the upward introduction of an end of the sheet already supported at its other end. The brackets shown in US2008/053036A1 and US5366329 similarly swivel to enable positioning of the sheet, but are less flexible in their use.

- 2 GB2502810 proposes a combination of simple single J-shaped clips and pairs of these welded together to form an H-shape to be screwed to the ceiling joists to receive plasterboard sheets. The H-shaped clips are located on the free end of the sheet to be screwed in place after lifting. Since the clips remain in place in the ceiling, they need to be a tight fit on the sheets, and this makes the initial positioning on the end J-clips difficult, as well as holding the sheets in place while screws are driven through the H-clips.

W02016/034870A1 discloses supports with opposed channels that are intended to clip on to the sheets in between pairs of joists to guide and hold the next sheet. It is intended that the supports will remain in position in the ceiling and be plastered over. This arrangement requires a special beading arrangement to be installed against the wall so that the first sheet can be positioned.

These prior art devices are all relatively complex, both in manufacture and in use. There is a need for a device that is simple to manufacture and sim15 pie and reliable to use.

Summary of the Invention

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a temporary support for use in mounting sheet materials on ceiling joists, comprising a flat strip having a hole therethrough for the passage of a fixing whereby, in use, the strip may be attached to the underside of a joist, an arm extending normally to the flat strip and having a tab extending normally to the arm at a distance from the flat strip greater than the thickness of the sheet material with which it is used, the tab serving to support an edge of a sheet, in use, and the arm having a region of reduced shear strength provided therein at a distance from the flat strip corresponding to the thickness of the sheet material whereby, when the sheets have been fastened to the joists by fixings, the portion of the support extending beneath the sheet material may be separated from the remainder of the support by applying a shearing force thereto.

Preferably, the support has at the end of the arm remote from the strip a hinged wedging member movable between a first position, wherein the whole of the wedging member lies on one side of the arm, to a second position in wedg-3ing engagement with a sheet located over the flat strip on the opposite side of the arm from the tab.

The support is preferably integrally moulded from a plastics material. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a tempo5 rary support for use in mounting sheet materials on ceiling joists, comprising a flat strip having a hole therethrough for the passage of a fixing whereby, in use, the strip may be attached to the underside of a joist, an arm extending normally to the flat strip and having at the end thereof remote from the strip a hinged wedging member movable between a first position, wherein the whole of the wedging member lies on one side of the arm, to a second position in wedging engagement with a sheet located over the flat strip on the opposite side of the arm, a tab extending normally to the arm on said one side thereof at a distance from the flat strip greater than the thickness of the sheet material with which it is used, the tab serving to support an edge of a further sheet, in use, and the arm having a region of reduced shear strength provided therein at a distance from the flat strip corresponding to the thickness of the sheet material whereby, when the sheets have been fastened to the joists by fixings, the portion of the support extending beneath the sheet material may be separated from the remainder of the support by applying a shearing force thereto.

The region of reduced shear strength may be a perforated or otherwise weakened region separable by applying a twisting force to the portion of the temporary support exposed beneath the sheets. The support may be integrally moulded in a plastics material, the hinge by which the wedging member is connected to the remainder of the support being formed as a region of increased flexibility, for example of reduced thickness.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings, which illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a temporary support according to one embodiment of the invention in the open position thereof;

Figure 2 is a view corresponding to that of Figure 1, but showing the closed position;

-4Figure 3 is a sectional view of a ceiling joist with the temporary support of Figure 1 fixed thereto and being used to support one edge of one plaster-board sheet and an edge of the next plasterboard sheet;

Figure 4 is a view corresponding to that of Figure 3, showing the edge of 5 the sheet locked in place pending the application of permanent fixings;

Figure 5 is a view corresponding to that of Figure 4, showing the removal of the portion of the temporary support extending beneath the plasterboards after it has served its purpose;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the inven10 tion, fitted to a plasterboard sheet;

Figure 7 is a side view of the support of Figure 6 in use to provide temporary support for another sheet of plasterboard during fixing; and

Figure 8 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention is use to provide temporary support for a sheet of plasterboard, for example adjacent to a wall.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment

Referring to Figures 1 to 5, a temporary support is shown which is integrally moulded from a plastics material and has a flat strip 20 with a fixing hole 21 through which a screw 22 or other fixing may be driven into the under-side of the joist 23 to hold the support in place. An arm 24 extends normally to the flat strip and has a supporting tab 25 projecting normally therefrom on the face of the arm opposite to the flat strip 20. The supporting tab 25 is spaced from the plane of the flat strip 20 by a distance in excess of the thickness of the sheet material with which it is intended to be used, so that, in use, the edge of the plasterboard sheet may be located onto the tab in an easy sliding motion, rather than as an interference fit. The lowermost end of the arm 24 carries a curved portion 26 directed to the opposite side of the arm to the supporting tab 25, the portion 26 being connected through a plastic hinge 27 to a wedging member 28. The wedging member 28 comprises a straight portion 29 and an outwardly curved section 30 extending from the end thereof away from the arm 24 and ending in a finger tab 31. A hook portion 32 projects from the junction between the straight portion 29 and the curved portion 30. A corresponding detent 34 is

- 5formed on the arm 24, on the opposite side thereof from the tab 25 and can be engaged by the hook portion 32 to hold the wedging member 28 to it.

As may be seen from Figure 3, the configuration of the curved portion 26 of the arm, and the wedging member 28 is such that the support can be used with two different standard thicknesses of plasterboard 35, the thinner, 12.5mm thickness board being indicated by the chain-dotted line and the thicker, 15mm board being shown by solid lines. In a first position of rotation, illustrated by solid lines, the curved portion engages and holds the 15mm board; for the 12.5mm board it is rotated further towards the arm 24 into the second position, in which the hook portion 32 engages with the detent 34. The curved portion 30 of the wedging member 28 engages the plasterboard 35 to wedge it against flat strip 20 so as to support the plasterboard while the fixings are driven into place. The arm 24 has a tear line of reduced thickness 33 across it at a distance from the surface of the flat strip 20 equal to or just smaller than (by a millimetre or 2) the plasterboard thickness.

In use, when the temporary support has been screwed to the under-side of the joist to 23, the wedging member 28 is rotated downwardly so as to leave clear access for a plasterboard sheet 35 to be rotated into position against the flat strip, the other end of the plasterboard sheet 35 having been temporarily supported either with a similar device or with an alternative temporary support. The wedging member can then be rotated into position with the curved section 30 jammed against the face of the plasterboard so as to lock the edge of the plasterboard into position as shown in Figure 4. Fixing screws can then be driven through the plasterboard sheet 35 to secure it in its correct position. The next plaster-board sheet 36 can then be located on the supporting tabs of two or more of the temporary supports and rotated into position using the temporary supports on the next appropriate ceiling joist. When the plasterboard sheet 36 has been screwed into position permanently, the wedging member 28 can then be re-leased from engagement with the plasterboard sheet 35. The free part of the arm 24 is then manually gripped and twisted to tear it across the tear line 33, the remainder of the arm 24 being held firmly between 2 adjacent plasterboard sheets 35 and 36, leaving the remainder of the support in position. Since

- 6the arm 24 is relatively thin, the gap between adjacent sheets 35 and 36 is small enough to be taped and plastered over in conventional manner. The tornoff part is simply discarded; all the plastic material can be recycled.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate an alternative form of the support of Figures 1 to 5. The support is moulded in plastics material and has a flat strip 40 with an arm 42 depending downwards from one end of the flat strip. A flat tab 44 extends normally from the arm 42 on the same side thereof as the flat strip at a distance therefrom equal to the thickness of the sheet material with which it is to be used, so that the support is a close fit on an edge of a first sheet 46. The flat tab 44 may have a lip 48 at its outer edge which in use turns away from the sheet, thereby facilitating fitting of the support on to the sheet 46. A second tab 50 extends normally from the arm 42 at a distance from the flat strip greater than the thickness of the sheet material 46 so as to receive and support the edge of the next sheet 47 to be installed. The arm 42 is provided with a region

43 of reduced shear strength between the flat strip 40 and the tab 44, and preferably close to the tab 44, so that when the sheets 46 and 47 have been fixed in place by means of screws 52 driven through the sheet and into a ceiling joist 54 (in Figure 7, the first sheet 46 has been fixed, but screws will similarly be driven through the second sheet 47 into each joist), the visible part of the support pro20 truding below the sheets 46 and 47 may be torn off and discarded. A projection 56 extending downwardly from the arm 42 facilitates the tearing, for example using a twisting action. As with the other embodiment, the joint between the boards can be taped over and plaster skimmed to finish the ceiling in the usual manner. The arm is made thin so as to minimise the gap between adjacent boards.

It will be appreciated that supports will be fitted to the edge of the board 47 opposite that shown, before the board is lifted into position and secured using screws, and this action can be repeated across the full width of the ceiling. Although the first board may need to be lifted into position in the usual manner, it would also be possible to provide temporary starting supports at the edge adjacent a wall which can be screwed into position to receive an edge of the board and then torn off in the manner described above when the board has been se- 7cured in place. Figure 8 illustrates another embodiment which is suitable to this function, although it could be used in other locations as well. The support comprises a flat strip 60 provided with a screw-hole 61 therethrough by which the support may be attached to a ceiling joist 62 by means of a screw 64. In the illustrated embodiment, the joist 62 is adjacent to a wall 63 and the support is positioned against the wall. The support has an arm 66 depending normally for one end of the flat strip 60, the arm having a tab 68 projecting normally therefrom on the same side of the arm as the flat strip 60. The tab 68 projects from the arm by a distance less than the length of the flat strip 60 so as not to ob10 struct access to the screw-hole 61 for fixing purposes, but by a distance sufficient to enable the edge of a plasterboard sheet 70 to be rested on it (it will be appreciated that a plurality of spaced apart supports might be used to give adequate support for one edge of a large sheet of plasterboard). The distance between the tab 68 and the flat strip 60 is greater than the thickness of the board to facilitate its introduction into the support, which will be with the board initially at an angle to the horizontal. A finger tab 72 extends from the end of the arm 66 downwardly and horizontally away from the arm so as to ensure that it is spaced from the wall 63 in use and can readily be gripped between fingers of a user. The arm 66 has a region 74 of reduced shear strength, for example of re20 duced thickness, at a position spaced from the underside of the flat strip 60 by a distance equal to the thickness of the board with which it is to be used so that, once the plasterboard sheet has been secured in position by screws or other fixings in the usual manner, the portion of the support remaining below the sheet may be torn off in the manner hereinbefore described.

Claims

1. A temporary support for use in mounting sheet materials on ceiling joists, comprising a flat strip which, in use, can engage the underside of a joist, an arm extending normally to the flat strip and having at one side of the arm a

5 projection providing a rest for receiving and supporting the edge of a sheet while the sheet is lifted into position and secured, the arm having a region of reduced shear strength provided therein at a distance from the flat strip equal to or less than the thickness of the sheet material whereby, when the sheets have been fastened to the joists by fixings, the portion of the support extending be10 neath the sheet material may be separated from the remainder of the support by applying a shearing force thereto.

2. A temporary support according to Claim 1, wherein the flat strip is provided with a hole therethrough permitting attachment of the support to a joist by means of a fixing passed through the hole.

15

3. A temporary support according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the arm has a projection engageable with the underside of a sheet material to hold the sheet against a portion of the flat strip, and a tab extending normally to the opposite side of the arm at a distance from the flat strip greater than the thickness of the sheet material with which it is used, whereby to receive and support the

20 edge of the next sheet, the arm having a region of reduced shear strength provided therein at a distance from the flat strip equal to or less than the thickness of the sheet material whereby, when the sheets have been fastened to the joists by fixings, the portion of the support extending beneath the sheet material may be separated from the remainder of the support by applying a shearing force

25 thereto.

4. A temporary support according to Claim 3, wherein the projection comprises a tab spaced vertically from the flat strip by a distance equal to the thickness of the sheet material with which it is to be used, whereby the support may be located on a sheet before it is fixed in position.

30 5. A temporary support according to Claim 3, having at the end of the arm remote from the strip a hinged wedging member movable towards and

-9away from a position in wedging engagement with a sheet located over the flat strip on the opposite side of the arm from the tab.

6. A temporary support according to Claim 5, wherein the hinged wedging member comprises a portion which curves outwardly and downwardly

5 relative to the flat strip such that rotation of the portion towards the arm progressively reduces the distance between the plane of the flat strip and an upper surface of the curved portion.

7. A temporary support according to Claim 6, wherein the hinged wedging member comprises a planar portion extending between the arm and

10 the curved portion, and wherein the arm bends or curves towards the side thereof opposite to that from which the tab extends.

8. A temporary support according to Claim 5, 6 or 7, wherein the wedging member is hinged to the arm by a region of reduced thickness.

9. A temporary support according to any preceding claim, wherein

15 the region of reduced strength is a perforated region.

10. A temporary support according to any preceding claim, integrally moulded in a plastics material.

Intellectual

Property

Office

Application No: GB1711073.5 Examiner: Mr Joshua Nolan