MXPA99002468A - Connector plate and punch for forming - Google Patents

Abstract

The connector plate (100) has a rigid, planar base (102), and a plurality of adjacent elongated slots (108) defined in said metal plate (100). The slots (108) are offset in a sinusoidal pattern having at least one cycle with a maximum amplitude slot position, a minimum amplitude slot position and at least two zero-point slot positions. Each slot (108) has first and second reverse-oriented mirror-image teeth (104, 106) extending from the plate (100) at opposing ends of each slot (108). A punch (302) having a base portion (308) having a longitudinal axis (310) and a shank (304) having a longitudinal axis (306) offset from the base portion longitudinal (310) axis is also provided.

Description

CONNECTOR PLATE AND DIE TO FORM IT TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a coring plate used to connect structural members to form truss frames or other structural frameworks. More particularly, this invention relates to an improvement in the retaining capacity of the teeth of the connector plate and to design features of tooth deployment in sine wave.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The connecting plates are used to connect wooden members to form trusses, joists, beams and the like. For convenience, the connector plates are discussed herein with respect to lattice or reinforced units. These plates are made of steel in thin and rigid sheet, such as galvanized steel. These plates have integrally formed teeth that fit into the adjacent wooden members to form a joint. The connector plates are usually installed first by placing the trussed members to be connected. A connector plate that overlaps or overlaps the joint is placed and then snapped into the wood by a compression press or a P1186 / 99 X suitable gantry press, so that the teeth of the connector plate are embedded in the wood. - The members of the framework can be in the form of lumber or 2-by-4, 2-by-6 or similar. be placed to form different framework designs. For example, two members of the framework can be laid side by side and joined to form a beam twice as thick. As another example, the butt ends of aligned framing members can be joined to form a member twice the length. As a further example of a truss construction, the end of a wooden member can be cut at an angle that is butted against a second wooden member. These members can be joined by a connector plate, forming a V-shaped joint. The connector plates are manufactured and sold with known design features. In particular, connector plate designers look for connector plates that have high steel efficiencies for tensile and shear forces and high values for tooth holding capacity. These characteristics determine the surface area of the connector plate and the number of plates needed to complete a framing design. Commonly, in the presence of higher shear loads, the number of P1186 / 99MX plates, the size and thickness of the .plates and the number of their teeth. But, a connector plate designer is limited by the capabilities of the steel material. In accordance with the above, the improved designs of the connectors reduce the cost of construction in labor costs, material costs and design costs. With respect to lattice designers, computer software is available to select commercial connector plates. Currently, the design of corrective plates are guided by the norms of design of frameworks fixed by their associations in the field, such as the Truss Píate Institute ("TPI") and by the model building codes. These standards have been developed by structural engineers, model building code personnel, university professors, design professionals and frame manufacturers. For example, steel standards, procedures and production tolerances used for the manufacture of metal connector plates established by the CFI require a minimum grade of steel ASTM A653, hot-dip galvanized with G-60 coating and a limit elastic or minimum strain of 33,000 psi. In addition, the quality of the steel used by the member companies of the association during the manufacture of the P1186 / 99MX connector plates is monitored by the TPI. Recently, the TPI revealed the industrial standard TPI 1-1995. This standard specifies that trussed joints connected by metal plates must be designed for a lateral resistance interpolated between the design values: Vlraa, Vlrae and Vlree. Referring to Figure 1, the Vlraa is the value of the allowable lateral resistance for metallic strain plates loaded parallel to the grain with the axis of the plate (grooves of the teeth) parallel to the load. Referring to Figure 2, the Virae is the value of the permissible lateral resistance for merÁlica connective plates loaded perpendicular to the load. Referring to Figure 3, the Vlrea is the value of the allowable lateral resistance for metal connector plates loaded parallel to the grain with the axis of the plate (tooth grooves) perpendicular to the load. Referring to Figure 4, the Vlree is the value of the permissible lateral resistance for metal connector plates loaded perpendicular to the grain with the axis of the plate (notches of the teeth) perpendicular to the load. The lateral resistance of the teeth redemption of a joint in any arbitrary orientation is determined by means of three interpolations. For example, Figure 5 illustrates a plate connector in an arbitrary orientation with the P1135 / 99MX design angles? already. The angle ? is the angle between the force and the grain (piece). - The angle a is the angle between the force and the plate. The first two interpolations are Hankinson's interpolations between force and grain (the piece). The first interpolation of Hankinson Vlra ?, calculates the permissible value of metal feeder plates loaded at an angle? with respect to the grain with the axis of the plate (grooves of the teeth) parallel to the load, as a function of the orientations Vlraa and Vlrae: (Vlraa) (Vlrae) V L, RAO. { Virad) sen:? + (Vlrae) eos2? The second interpellation of Hankínson Vlre ?, calculates the permissible value of metal connector plates loaded at an angle? with respect to the grain with the axis of the plate (grooves of the teeth) perpendicular to the load, as a function of the orientations Vlrea and Vlree: (VlreaWlree) V L, RET (Vlrea) sen "? - (Vlree) eos? The third interpolation is a linear interpolation between the force and the plate, that is, between the VLRA orientations? and VLRE0: P118G / 99MX VLR? = VLR.i? "* • (% QO) 0 LRET - VLR??) where. a Plate Angle - Angle of Force If a > then = a - 180 If a > 90 then a = 180-a ? = | Angle of the Piece - Angle of the Force | Yes? > 180, then? =? - 180 Yes? > 90 then? = 180-? Then the Permissible Tooth Retention value is calculated by the following equation: TH Permissible = (VLR?) (Number of plates) (Heel Reduction) (Plate Area) Some commercially available connector plates have alternating tooth configurations for tooth holding capacity and increased steel efficiency. For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,343,580 issued to Moyer et al. Discloses a structural joint connector in which two rows of teeth are displaced from one another by an alternating distance. One of the declared objectives is to provide a union Improved structural P1186 / 99MX, formed by two wooden members placed at the top and interconnected by an improved connector plate. Other connector plates have adopted designs with crooked teeth with curved lines that are offset with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the grooves. For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,374,003 issued to Smith discloses this displaced curve line with angularly twisted teeth about its curved line, so that the teeth interlock and twist with the fibers of the wood to resist loosening. when the wood moves, expands, swells or the like. But, we always look for additional improvements that increase the capacity of retention of the teeth of the connector plate and the efficiency of the steel. These improvements allow the size of the connector plate to decrease, recognizing in turn economic savings in the cost of the materials. In addition, greater capacities avoid the creation of a greater variety of designs of frameworks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In this way, the connector plate of the present provides an improved resistance capacity both in the tooth to load and in the tooth to grain of the wood in the four P1186 / 99MX guidance, as set out in TPI 1-1995. The connector plate has a rigid flat base and a plurality of elongated and adjacent slots defined in the metal plate. The slots are displaced in a sinusoidal pattern having at least one cycle with a slot position of maximum amplitude, a slot position of minimum amplitude and at least two slot positions at the zero point. Each slot has first and second mirror-imaged teeth oriented in the reverse that extend from the plate at the opposite ends of each slot. In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a connector plate having a metal plate, a plurality of elongated slots with a tooth extending from each opposite end of the slot. The elongated slots are defined in the plate and are arranged in at least one row. Each row is formed into a generally cyclic waveform. Each tooth extends substantially perpendicular to the plate from each opposite end of each of the elongated slots and has a base with a curved spine. The curved spine originates apart from the longitudinal axis of its groove and extends to a point. The first and second asymmetric portions having extruded edges extend generally laterally from the curved spine extending to the tip. The first portion P1186 / 99MX has less taper or taper than the second portion. A tapered corrugation is formed in the second portion of the tooth adjacent the base of the tooth. The corrugation extends from the outer edge of the second portion with a tapered end extending towards the curved spine. In still another aspect of the invention, a die is provided to form an alternate stamped or punched opening. The die has a base portion with a longitudinal axis, a stilt or cane and a stamping or die cutting tip. The shank has an elongated cross section extending from the base portion, such that at the transition from the shank to the base portion a shoulder is formed to support the punch in a set of wave matrix sections. The shank has a longitudinal axis displaced from the longitudinal axis of the base portion. The punching tip is at one end of the shank to form a punched elongated opening having at least one tooth extending from one end of the opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings are incorporated and form part of the specification to illustrate an example of the invention. The figures of the drawings together with 'the description serve to explain the P118S / 99MX principles of the invention. The drawings are only for illustrative purposes of the preferred and alternative examples of the manner in which the invention can be manufactured and used and should not be construed as limiting the invention only to the example illustrated and described. The various advantages and particularities of the present invention will be apparent from the consideration of the drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an illustration of a conventional connector plate connecting a joint in an orientation AA to obtain a value Vlraa; Figure 2 is an illustration of a conventional connector plate connecting a junction in an orientation AE to obtain a value Vlrae; Figure 3 is an illustration of a conventional connector plate connecting a joint in an EA orientation to obtain a value V l; Figure 4 is an illustration of a conventional connector plate connecting a joint in an EE orientation to obtain the value Vlree; Figure 5 is an illustration of a conventional connector plate connecting a joint in an arbitrary orientation; Figure 6 is a view of a connector plate having a sine wave array of teeth joining two boards; Figure 7 is a perspective view of a P1I86 / 99MX pair of teeth formed at the ends of an elongated slot; Figure 8 is a plan view of an exterior surface of one of the teeth; Figure 9 is a plan view of an inner surface of one of the teeth; Figure 10 is a side plan view of one of the teeth taken along line 10-10 shown in Figure 9; Figure 11 is a plan view of the matrix sections arranged or arranged to accept the dies and form the sine wave tooth deployment of the connector plate; Figure 12 is a detailed plan view of a connector plate having a sine wave tooth deployment; and Figure 13 is a plan view of displaced dies used to form a sine wave tooth deployment cycle.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED MODALITY The present invention will be described with reference to the examples of the manner in which the invention can be manufactured and used. Similar reference characters are used in all the various • figures of the drawings to indicate similar or corresponding parts. The invention uses a concept P1186 / 99MX inventive to increase the values of retention of the teeth and the efficiency of the ac-ero of the connecting plates. Referring to Figure 6, there is shown a connector plate, designated generally by the number 100. The connector plate 100 is used to join two members of lattice A and B, respectively, in the form of joint or butt joint. The connector plate 100 has a base 102 having a plurality of pairs of teeth punched therefrom, as shown in Figure 7. Each pair of teeth 104 and 106, respectively, is punched out to form an elongated opening or slot 108 defined between these. The teeth 104 and 106 extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the base 102 that forms the connector plate 100. As shown, the teeth 104 and 106 are oriented in a complementary manner and extend from the base 102 of the connector plate. Referring to the tooth 104, the curved spine 110 extends longitudinally from the base 102 to the tip 116 of the tooth 104. The curved spine 110 is displaced from the longitudinal central axis S (shown in Figure 7) of the slot 108 and is practically perpendicular to a face plane defined by the base 102. The asymmetrical portions 112 and 114 extend from the curved spine 110. An inner surface 117 is formed practically arched, as shown P1186 / 99MX better in Figures 7 and 10. That is, the joint of the tooth close to the cross-sectional shape of the tooth 104 and the base 102 generally has the shape of a crescent or crown moon forming an asymmetric internal change surface. Referring to Figure 8, a plan view of the external surface of the tooth 104 is shown. For clarity, only one tooth is described, with the understanding that each of the teeth associated with the connector plate 100 is substantially similar but, provide complementary pair orientations as shown in Figure 7. Referring to Figure 9, there is shown a tooth 104 with two asymmetric portions 112 and 114, respectively, and a curved spine 110 at the junction of these two portions. Extending from the tip 116 is an extruded edge 122 to facilitate insertion of the tooth 104 into a board A, for example. The extruded bcrde 122 forms a knife-like edge in general sufficient to facilitate the insertion of the tooth 104 into the board A, for example. Between the extruded edge 122 and the reference 126 an angle 124. is formed. The angle 124 is commonly referred to as the air cutting angle. The lower edge portion 122 extends into a depressed or corrugated region 128 generally in the shape of a Gaussian curve having a base and a P1186 / 99MX vertex defined by the edge 122. The corrugated region 128 has a vertex 129 extending inward towards the spine 110. The base of the curve is best shown in Figure 10. The corrugated region 128 extends in the plane of the surface generally defined by the arcuate inner surface 120. It is believed that this corrugated region longitudinally reinforces the tooth 104 when it is fitted to a board. That is, the undulated region can flex with respect to the rest of the tooth structure, thereby dispersing part of the longitudinal force by means of this flexion. As best illustrated in Figure 9, the opposite asymmetric portion 114 of the spine 110 has a second extruded edge 130, which also extends from the tip 116. A second angle 134 is defined between the second edge 130 and the reference 132. In general, the second angle 134 has a smaller value than the first angle 124 and is commonly formed by an angle referred to as the secondary level. The first and second edges 122 and 130 extend substantially parallel to the first and second edges 120 and 122 of the body of the tooth, in accordance with the foregoing. As should be noted, the value of the first and second angles 124 and 134 may vary respectively, depending on the parameters of PX186 / 99MX manufacture. For example, these parameters are the thickness of the steel and the selected material. For the preferred embodiment described herein, the material is preferably an ASTM A653 steel plate having a 20 gauge thickness (approximately 0.91 mm). In the preferred embodiment, the steel plate is die-cut cold. Referring to Figure 12, there is shown a view of the back surface of the connector plate 100 illustrating the arrangement or arrangement of the sinusoidal groove of the pairs of teeth punched therefrom (see Figure 7). The connector plate 100 has a plurality of rows Rl, R2 and R3. For purposes of illustration, a sinusoidal waveform M is defined by the slots and is represented in a broken line along the row Rl. It is shown that the sine wave form M intersects the points of the center line of the plurality of slots 108. A cycle C of the sine wave form M is designated by a slot position D of maximum amplitude, a minimum slot position. E and at least two slot positions F of zero point. In the preferred embodiment shown, cycle C is about one inch (approximately 25.4 mm). The maximum and minimum amplitude slot positions D and E, respectively, are related to the zero point slot positions and are offset P1186 / 99MX approximately one sixteenth of an inch (approximately 1.58 mm), respectively. The distance G between the grooves 108 is approximately one-eighth of an inch (approximately 3.18 mm). This sinusoidal groove configuration has the benefit of increasing the retention values of the Vlrea and Vlree teeth. As a result, the connector plate 100 can have a reduced base area 102 and still have similar resistance characteristics to those of the larger connector plates. For the preferred embodiment shown, the length L of the slot is approximately one-half inch (approximately 12.7 mm). The width of the groove 108 is approximately one-eighth of an inch (3.18 mm). Referring again briefly to Figure 9, the height H of each tooth is approximately three-eighths of an inch (approximately 9.52 mm). The dies and dies for forming the teeth and grooves are shown in Figures 11 and 13. Referring to Figure 7, a set of dies 200 form the cycle C of the sinusoidal groove pattern (see Figure 11). For continuity between Figures 11 to 13, a nomenclature is adopted indicating the corresponding manufacturing structures. For example, the pair of teeth F (Figure 12), is formed by means of a cavity F 'of the matrix (Figure 11) and the P1186 / 99MX die F "(Figure 13) The cycle of array 200 has five matrix partitions 201. As shown, arrays 200 define cavities 202 to receive dies 302 (shown in Figure 13). they have two substantially parallel longitudinal side walls 204 and 206. The distance between the side walls 204 and 206 is W. Each end of the longitudinal side walls extends towards two inclined walls 208 and 210, respectively, which form an asymmetrical vertex. 211 eccentric which is offset from the longitudinal center of the cavity 202. The inclined side wall 208 forms an angle 212 with the reference line 214. With respect to the inclined side wall 208, the apex 211 is separated from the first longitudinal side wall 204. by the distance T. The inclined side wall 210 forms an angle 216 with the reference line 218. With respect to the inclined side wall 210, e the apex 211 is separated from the longitudinal side wall 206 by the distance U. In the preferred embodiment, the distance T is approximately 0.08 inches (approximately 2.03 mm), the distance U is approximately 0.04 inches (approximately 1.02 mm) the angle 212 has a value of approximately 43.6 degrees and angle 216 P1186 / 99MX has a value of approximately 27.7 degrees. The width W of the cavities 202 is approximately 0.12 inches (approximately 3.08 mm) and the length of the cavities 202 is approximately 0.50 inches (approximately 12.7 mm). As indicated, both ends of the longitudinal walls 204 and 206 are complementary images of one another. This embodiment is preferred to reduce the amount of machining to produce the array of arrays 200. But other modifications that affect these relationships will still preserve the effects of this invention. Referring to Figure 13, the set of dies 300 used to produce the slots is shown. Referring to a die, for example, the die F ", the die has a cross-sectional area with bead angles that complement the silhouette of the die cavities 202. For punching the sheet material through the array of dies, the dies 302 are machined to have a smaller cross-sectional area sufficient to allow the sheet material to be die cut and shaped into the array of dies 200 without causing the dies 302 to wedge and become trapped in the array of dies 200. That is, the structures are designed for a forming operation or metal shaping that causes the conformation and thinning of the material to occur.

P1186 / 99MX metallic in the region between the inclined walls of the dies 302 to form eccentric curved spines 110 and corrugated or corrugated regions 128 (see Figure 7). The surfaces of the die tip have cutting surfaces and metal shaping surfaces that are known in the art. The distinguishing feature of the invention are the offset central lines of a standard die holder used to obtain the sinusoidal pattern in the connector plate 100, as shown in Figures 11 and 12. Additionally, the die reeds 304 have eccentric parts to those of the die. cavity 202 of the matrix. To admit the sine-wave pattern, the set of dies 300 has centerline dies F "first and second, a die E" of maximum amplitude and a die D "of minimum amplitude. Dies D" and E "of minimum and maximum amplitude have die canes 304 with center lines 306 displaced from the center lines 310 of die base 308. In the preferred embodiment, the displacement is about one sixteenth of an inch (about 1.59 mm). present invention, the metal foil material or connector material, from which the connector plate will be formed, is gradually passed between a P1186 / 99MX series of dies and their corresponding matrices. The dies and dies are arranged so that each die will puncture the metal material and pass therethrough, so that it extends into the cavity of a corresponding die. When the die extends into the cavity of the dies, a significant portion of the space between the longitudinal side edges of each die and the corresponding die is less than the thickness of the sheet material. In this way, as the die enters or enters the cavity of the die, the metal conformation occurs, with which the teeth are reformed by cleaning the metal between the side walls of the die and the cavity of the die. In this way, the displaced spines 110 of the teeth are formed offset from the longitudinal axis S of the grooves 108, as shown in Figure 7. Since the die is fully extended in the cavity of the die, each tooth is forced towards a position aligned almost vertically to its opposite tooth. From the foregoing, the various structures of an improved connector plate are revealed. But, various modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims. Also those skilled in the art may prefer the P118S / 99MX use some of the features and advantages of the invention without using all the particularities. The invention is not restricted to the specific forms shown or to the aforementioned uses, with the exception of the extent required by the claims.

P118S / 99MX

Claims (42)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the content of the following CLAIMS is claimed as property: 1. A connector plate comprising a metal plate having a plurality of teeth that is projecting integrally from the plate and an elongated slot adjacent to each tooth, the slots have separate side edges and wherein the teeth are disposed or located each at the end of one of the slots, the slots are disposed on the plate in a plurality of adjacently spaced rows and wherein each of the grooves extend transverse to the rows and each row consists mainly of a single row of grooves that are offset in a sinusoidal pattern having at least one cycle and, wherein, each cycle has at least one slot position of maximum amplitude, a slot position of minimum amplitude and at least two positions of ra zero point nura.
2. 2. A connector plate comprising a metal plate having a plurality of teeth projecting integrally from the plate and an elongated slot adjacent to each tooth, the grooves having separate side edges and, where the teeth are located each in the end of one of the P1186 / 99 X grooves, the grooves are arranged in the plate in a plurality of separate rows where each of the grooves extends transversely to the rows and the grooves in each of the rows is displaced in a sinusoidal pattern having the minus one cycle and, wherein, each cycle has at least one slot position of maximum amplitude, a slot position of minimum amplitude and at least two zero point slot positions, wherein each tooth extends substantially perpendicularly to the plate from each opposite end of each of the elongated slots, each tooth having a base with a curved spine, the curved spine originates in addition to the longitudinal axis of the slot and extends towards a tip and has a first asymmetric portion and a second, edges extruded in the asymmetric portions wherein the extruded edges extend generally laterally from the curved spine and taper towards the tip, the first portion Asymmetric has a less tapered or tapered angle than the second portion, the second portion has a taper or taper with a generally extruded outer edge having a thickness less than the thickness around the curved spine of the tooth; and a tapered corrugation formed in the second portion adjacent the base of the tooth, the corrugation extends from the outer edge of the second portion with a tapered end extending P1186 / 99MX towards the curved spine.
3. 3. A connector plate comprising a metal plate having a plurality of teeth projecting integrally from the plate and an elongated slot adjacent to each tooth, the grooves having separate side edges and wherein the teeth are disposed or located each in the end of one of the grooves, all the grooves are located or arranged on the plate in a plurality of adjacent spaced rows where each of the grooves extends transverse to the rows and the adjacent grooves in the rows overlap longitudinally and, wherein, the grooves in the rows are displaced in a sinusoidal pattern having at least one cycle and, wherein, each cycle has at least one slot position of maximum amplitude, a slot position of minimum amplitude and at least two positions of zero point slot.
4. 4. A connector plate comprising a metal plate having a plurality of teeth projecting integrally from the plate and an elongated slot adjacent to each tooth, the grooves having lateral edges extending generally in a parallel manner and, where teeth are each located at the end of one of the slots, all the slots are arranged in the plate in a plurality of adjacent rows, wherein the slots are P1186 / 99 X extend transversely to the rows and the adjacent slots in the rows are longitudinally overlapped and the teeth in each of the rows are offset in a sinusoidal pattern having at least one cycle and, where each cycle has the less a tooth position of maximum amplitude, a tooth position of minimum amplitude and at least two tooth positions of zero point.
5. 5. A connector plate according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein each row comprises an area that lies between a pair of parallel lines that extend through the positions of maximum and minimum amplitude and, where, each row is separated from each adjacent row.
6. A connector plate according to claims 1, 3 or 4, wherein each tooth has a curved line extending from the base of the tooth towards the tip of the tooth, the curved line being transversely displaced with respect to the longitudinal axis of the tooth, in such a way that the tooth is divided into an asymmetric internal channel surface.
7. 7. A connector plate according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the plate is rectangular.
8. 8. A connector plate according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the plate is a P1186 / 99MX galvanized steel plate.
9. 9. A connector plate according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein at least one cycle is approximately 25.4 mm.
10. 10. A connector plate according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the grooves each have substantially similar dimensions.
11. 11. A connector plate according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the slots are displaced approximately one sixteenth of an inch.
12. A connector plate according to claims 1, 3 or 4, wherein each slot has teeth that are mirror image and oriented in a first and second inverse manner, extending from the plate at opposite ends of each slot.
13. 13. A connector plate according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the plate is generally quadrilateral.
14. A connector plate according to claims 1, 3 or 4, wherein the teeth are arranged so that a tooth is located at each end of each slot.
15. 15. A connector plate according to claims 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the adjacent slots in each of the rows are spaced the same distance apart. P1186 / 99MX
16. 16. A die for forming teeth in a connector plate, comprising: an elongated shaft having a metal working tip at one end and a base at the other end; the shank has an elongated cross section defined by opposite sides and opposite ends, the opposite sides comprising parallel and flat parallel side walls, the ends comprising two converging end walls forming an end wall intersection, each end wall intersecting a side wall in a obtuse angle; and the intersection of the end wall is eccentric to a plane parallel to the side walls and is midway between the side walls.
17. 17. A die according to claim 16, wherein the die is for forming first and second opposing teeth oriented in reverse.
18. 18. A die according to claim 16, wherein the die has a unitary construction.
19. 19. A die according to claim 16, wherein the end wall intersections are on opposite sides of a plane parallel to the side walls and halfway between the side walls.
20. 20. A die according to claim 16, wherein the converging end walls intersect at an angle of approximately 108 degrees. P1186 / 99X
21. 21. A die according to claim 16, wherein one of the converging end walls intersects a side wall at an angle of approximately 134 degrees.
22. 22. A die according to claim 16, further comprising a coupling die having a cavity with a cross section similar to the cross section of the shank.
23. 23. A die according to claim 22, wherein at least a portion of the rod enters the cavity in the matrix when it forms a connector plate.
24. 24. A die according to claim 16, wherein the base has a cross section greater than the cross section of the rod for mounting to a die holder.
25. 25. A die according to claim 16, the metal working tip has a smaller cross section than the shank and has cutting and forming surfaces.
26. 26. The die combination of claim 16, with a corresponding coupling matrix, wherein the matrix comprises a cavity, the cavity has an elongated cross section defined by opposite matrix sides and opposite matrix ends, the sides of the matrix they comprise separate flatter parallel side walls, the end of the matrix comprise two P1186 / 99MX converging matrix end walls forming an intersection of the end wall of the matrix, the end wall of the matrix intersecting a side wall of the matrix at an obtuse angle; and the intersection of the end wall of the die is eccentric to a plane parallel to the side walls of the die and halfway between them.
27. 27. The combination according to claim 26, wherein the intersections of the end wall of the die are on opposite sides of a plane parallel to the side walls of the die and halfway between them.
28. The combination according to claim 26, wherein the cross section of the cavity is larger than the cross section of the shaft.
29. The combination according to claim 26, wherein the end converging walls of the matrix intersect at an angle of approximately 108 °.
30. 30. The combination according to the claim 26, wherein one of the converging end walls of the die at each end of the cavity intersects a sidewall of the die at an angle of approximately 134 °.
31. 31. The combination according to the claim 30, wherein the other convergent end wall of the die at each end of the cavity intersects a P1186 / 99MX side wall of the array at an angle of approximately 118 °.
32. 32. A connector plate comprising a metal plate having a plurality of teeth projecting integrally from the plate and an elongated slot adjacent to each tooth, each of the slots having an elongated cross section defined by opposite sides and opposite ends, the sides comprise parallel and spaced flat side walls, the ends comprising two converging end walls forming an end wall intersection, each end wall intersecting a side wall at an obtuse angle; and the intersection of the end wall is eccentric to a plane parallel to the parallel side walls and halfway between them.
33. 33. A connector plate according to claim 32, wherein the grooves each have first and second opposing teeth oriented in reverse, extending from the plate at opposite ends of the grooves.
34. 34. A connector plate according to claim 32, wherein the end walls intersect at an angle of approximately 108 °.
35. 35. A connector plate according to claim 32, wherein one of the converging end walls at one end of the slots P1186 / 99MX intersect a side wall at an angle of approximately 134 °.
36. 36. A connector plate according to claim 35, wherein the other converging end wall at one end of the grooves intersects a side wall at an angle of approximately 118 °.
37. 37. A method for forming a metal connector plate having teeth, the method comprising: placing a metal plate between a die and its corresponding die, the die comprises an elongated shaft having a metal working tip at one end and a base at the other end; the shank has an elongated cross section, defined by opposite sides of punch and opposite ends of the punch, the sides of the punch comprise parallel and separate flat sidewalls of the punch, the ends of the punch comprising two converging end walls of the punch forming an intersection of end wall of the die, each end wall of the die intersects a side wall of the die at an obtuse angle, the die comprises a cavity, the cavity has an elongated cross section defined by opposite sides of the die and opposite ends of the die, the sides of the matrix comprise flat side walls parallel and separated from the matrix, the ends of the matrix comprise two walls of the matrix. P1186 / 99MX converging end of the matrix forming an intersection of end-wall of matrix, each end wall of the matrix intersects a side wall of the matrix at an obtuse angle; the intersection of the end wall of the die and the intersection of the end wall of the die are eccentric to a plane parallel to the side walls of the die and are midway between these side walls of the die; and punching the metal working tip and at least a portion of the shank through the metal plate into the cavity in the die, thereby cutting and forming a portion of the metal plate in the teeth.
38. 38. A method according to claim 37, wherein the die is for forming first and second opposing teeth oriented in reverse.
39. 39. A method according to claim 37, wherein the converging end walls intersect at an angle of about 108 °.
40. 40. A method according to claim 37, wherein a converging end wall of the shank intersects a side wall of the shank at an angle of approximately 134 °.
41. 41. A method according to claim 40, wherein the other converging end wall at each end of the shank intersects a side wall of the shank. P1186 / 99MX reeds at an angle of approximately 118 °.
42. 42. A die according to claim 21, wherein the other convergent end wall intersects a side wall at an angle of about 118 degrees. P1186 / 99MX