NZ560239A - An adjustable washer system for building elements including nesting members with eccentric apertures - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to an adjustable washer system for building elements. Particularly, a washer system for a fixing element. The washer system includes a plurality of members of differing size, wherein each member has a body (1, 4, 6) and an aperture (2, 5, 7). The aperture of each member is adapted to receive the body of the next smallest member in a substantially planar nested arrangement; and the aperture of at least one member other than the largest member is located eccentrically within the body of the said member. The side walls of the aperture of the largest member are tapered within the range >0° to 5°.

Description

560239 *10055648545* PATENTS FORM NO. 5 Fee No. 4: $250.00 PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION After Provisional No: 554028 Filing Date: 30 July 2007 Priority Date: 20 March 2007 AN ADJUSTABLE WASHER SYSTEM FOR BUILDING ELEMENTS WE ITW NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, a New Zealand Company of 23-29 Poland Road, Glenfield, Auckland, New Zealand. hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed to be particularly described in and by the following statement: Intellectual Property Office of N.Z. 2 0 MAR 2008 RECEIVED 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR AN ADJUSTABLE WASHER SYSTEM FOR BUILDING ELEMENTS TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to an adjustable washer system for building elements. Background Art Constructing buildings usually requires building elements of varying materials and designs to be connected together. A common scenario involves the interconnection of one building element (which has an aperture for connection of that building element to another building element) to a second building element via a fixing member. In many cases the second building element is constructed from 10 concrete and a fixing member, such as a stud or a threaded female member, is cast into the second element. This fixing member co-operates with apertures in the first element. For example, where the fixing element is a stud, it may pass through the aperture in the first building element during alignment and the first building element may be secured to the second building element via a nut on the stud. 15 Similarly, where the fixing element is a threaded female member, the aperture in the first building element will be aligned with the female member and a bolt passed through the aperture to secure the first building element to the second.

In modern "tilt up construction" applications building elements, such as metal "I beams", often need to be connected to concrete walls. These beams are usually 20 fixed with fixture elements (such as bolts) via apertures in flanges on the beams. The fixture elements often co-operate with threaded female members cast into the pre-cast concrete wall slab in the manner described above.

A disadvantage of this method and apparatus of construction is that, due to the weight and size of the beams, it is difficult to align the apertures in the flanges of 2 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR the beams with the cast in female members in the wall slab. Alignment takes a significant amount of time and may require a crane or other lifting means to manoeuvre the beam.

Furthermore, the tolerances of the cast in elements and apertures are often tight 5 compared to the scale of the building element. These tolerances can lead to a time consuming and labour intensive operation involving suspending the building element or beam via a crane while each of the apertures and female elements are aligned for connection with the fixing elements. This operation will often involve aligning the apertures and fixtures in both the horizontal and vertical axis.

While the problem could be alleviated by substantially increasing the size of the apertures in the building elements (for example the apertures in the flanges of the beams) and using a correspondingly large washer to bridge the aperture when the nut or bolt is applied, the fixture is liable to loosen during routine movement or shifting of the building elements, or during an event such as an earthquake. For 15 this reason engineering standards in most countries allows for only a negligible (0.1 mm) tolerance for slippage.

It would therefore be advantageous to have a means for the connection of building elements via such apertures which allows adjustment of the aperture for the fixture after alignment of the building elements and which meets these engineering 20 standards regarding slippage.

Such a means would reduce the labour intensity of related construction methods. Such a means would also allow some building methods to be used in markets where tolerances of apertures or casting or welding fixtures are currently beyond the technical skill of engineers. It may also allow some construction methods to be 25 used in markets where currently there may be insufficient capital to routinely 3 560239 James & Wells Ret: 232572DIV/61 LR suspend large building elements for extended periods by crane while apertures with fixture elements are aligned, particularly in cases with multiple fixing points.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for connecting building elements which allows for greater tolerances in apertures for 5 fixtures of building elements, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice in connectors for building elements.

It is an alternative object of the present invention to provide a method of construction which allows for greater tolerances in apertures for fixtures of building elements, or at least to provide the public with a useful choice in such methods of 10 construction.

All arrangements discussed in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of these references.

Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.

Disclosure of Invention In one aspect the present invention provides a washer system for a fixing element, the system including a plurality of members of differing size, wherein each member has a body and an aperture, characterised in that • the aperture of each member is adapted to receive the body of the next smallest member in a substantially planar nested arrangement; and 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR • the aperture of at least one member other than the largest member is located eccentrically within the body of the said member.

According to a second aspect the present invention provides a washer system for a fixing element, the system including a plurality of members of differing size, wherein each member has a body and an aperture, characterised in that • the aperture of each member is adapted to receive the body of the next smallest member in a substantially planar nested arrangement; and • the aperture of at least one member other than the largest member is: o located eccentrically within the body of the said member; and o adapted to receive part of a fixing element.

According to a further aspect the present invention provides a washer system for a fixing element as described above, wherein the member(s) other than the largest member are locked in its/their respective aperture when the fixing element is in its fixed or tightened position.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for use of a washer system characterised by the steps of: a) Attaching the largest member to a first building element about an aperture on said building element; b) Aligning the aperture of the largest member with a fixing element on or within a second building element; 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR c) Inserting the body of the next smallest member in a substantially planar nested arrangement within the open aperture of the larger member; d) Rotating and aligning the aperture of said next smallest member within a region that corresponds with the fixing element of said second building element; e) If necessary, repeating steps c) and d) for third and subsequent members; f) Inserting a second fixing element into the open aperture of the smallest member such that the said second fixing element corresponds with the first fixing element of said second building element; and g) Tightening said second fixing element to lock the relative positions of the members and to lock said first building element to said second building element.

As used herein the terms 'fixing element' and 'tightening element' refer to any arrangement having an element that is tightened on a shaft. Examples are a 15 threaded female element combined with a bolt; or a stud combined with a nut.

Those skilled in the art will also understand that the term 'washer' refers to any element that admits a shaft but not a tightening element.

Brief Description of Drawings Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following 20 description which is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 6 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR Figure 1 shows a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the first member of the present invention; Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 about the X-X' axis; Figure 3 shows a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the second member of the present invention; Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in Figure 3 about the Y-Y' axis; Figure 5 shows a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the third member of 10 th e present i nve ntion; Figure 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in Figure 5 about the Z-Z' axis; Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the washer system including first, second and third members prior to assembly in direction A; Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the first, second, and third members when assembled to form the washer system; and Figure 9 shows a plan view of the first, second and third members when assembled to form the adjustable washer system.

Detailed Description Including Best Mode The invention is now described in relation to one preferred embodiment of the present invention as shown in Figures 1 to 9. It should be appreciated that the invention may be varied from the Figures and dimensions without departing from 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR the scope of the invention.

Throughout the specification, the system will be described in accordance with a preferred embodiment which includes three members. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any number of members may be utilised 5 with the present invention as long as there are at least two.

Preferably, the washer system includes a first (largest) member having a first aperture, a second (intermediate) member having a second aperture and third (smallest) member having a third aperture.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the first member, in the form of a square plate (length 10 130 mm, width 130 mm and thickness 9.9 mm) and generally indicated by arrow (1), has a first aperture (2) of internal diameter of 80.75 mm measured A-A.

The first member (1) is adapted for fixture to a building element (not shown) via welding at or about its perimeter. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other methods for securing the first member to a building element may be 15 used.

In practice, first member (1) is welded over a corresponding aperture in a building element. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that to confer the advantages of the present invention dimension A-A cannot be larger than the corresponding aperture in the building element the first member (1) is affixed to.

It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that the building element itself may form part or all of the first member. Thus, while in the preferred embodiment first member (1) is welded about an aperture in a building element, aperture (2) of first member (1) might equally be formed directly in the building element thereby obviating this initial fixing step. 8 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR The first member (1) also includes a series of 0.5 mm grooves (3) for use in assembly alignment. In this preferred embodiment, the building element is marked out prior to assembly or during construction and grooves (3) (which mark the centre line of the first member (1)) are matched to such markings to align the first member 5 in a desired position prior to welding. Also, the grooves (3) act as a 'sighting' mark for setting up members (1, 4 and 6) such that aperture (7) aligns with a female threaded member (not shown) cast in to a concrete wall element (not shown).

In preferred embodiments the side walls of aperture (2) of the first member (1) are tapered at 5 degrees as depicted more clearly in Figure 2 and as indicated in plan 10 view in Figure 1 at (2A). The taper facilitates locking of the three members with a progressive force as the fixture is tightened in a manner described later in this specification. The applicant has found that the same advantage will not be conferred by a taper of greater than 5 degrees, or at least not to the same extent.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a taper is only one such 15 means to facilitate locking. For example, the side walls of the apertures and members can be perpendicular, and a further fixing means (such as LOCTITE,™ adhesives or welding) used to retain the member in its respective aperture. Similarly such fixing means can be used in conjunction with a taper to provide more secure retention.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, a second member in the form of a washer is generally indicated by arrow (4) with external diameter 79 mm and thickness 9.9 mm.

Preferably, the perimeter (4A) and side wall (5B) of the aperture (5) of the second member are tapered at 5 degrees in the manner, and for the reasons, previously described. Tapered side wall (5B) is depicted in plan view at (5A) on Figure 3. 9 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIW61 LR In this embodiment, the external diameter of second member (4) is 81.16 mm when measured at points C-C in Figure 4. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this dimension must not be greater than dimension B-B in Figure 2 to facilitate nesting of the body of the second member (4) inside the first member (1), and must 5 not be less than dimension A-A in Figure 2 to avoid the body of second member (4) passing through aperture (2) of first member (1). It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, within these parameters, any dimension could have been chosen for C-C although C-C would be closer to A-A if a near level nested arrangement is desired. However, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the 10 art that a level nested arrangement is not desired in configurations which utilise a taper for locking the members as it would not provide the necessary clamping force.

In this embodiment, aperture (5) of the second member (4) is eccentrically located from the perimeter of member (4) (11 mm off centre). It will be appreciated by 15 those skilled in the art that this permits a range of positions of aperture (5) depending on the positioning of second member (4) in aperture (2) of first member (1).

In preferred embodiments the first (1) and second (4) members are constructed of materials (such as mild steel) to allow planar rotation of the second member (4) 20 within the aperture (2) of first member (1) such that the position of aperture (5) of second member (4) can be adjusted in an orbit around the centre of second member (4).

In alternative embodiments the members may be constructed of mild steel with zinc plating. The advantage of zinc plating is that it provides both a protective coating 25 and assists with the locking of the respective members. 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIW61 LR A third member (6) as shown in Figures 5 and 6 is configured in similar fashion to second member (4). Referring to Figure 6 the external diameter of third member (6) is 48.31 mm when measured at points F-F. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this dimension must not be greater than dimension E-E in Figure 4 to 5 facilitate nesting of the body of the third member (6) inside the second member (4), and must not be less than dimension D-D in Figure 4 to avoid the body of third member (6) passing through aperture (5) of second member (4). As with second member (4), it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, within these parameters, any dimension could have been chosen for F-F although F-F should 10 be a closer to D-D if a near level nested arrangement is desired.

Preferably, the third member (6) also has an aperture (7) located eccentrically with respect to its perimeter. This aperture is intended to receive the shaft of a fixing element and for that reason is not tapered in the preferred embodiment although this should not be seen as a limitation as, in alternative embodiments, tapering may 15 be required. For similar reason a round aperture is depicted although any manner of shape might be used provided it corresponds to the shape of the fixing element utilised so that at least part of it may pass through aperture (7).

In this embodiment, aperture (7) of the third member (6) is eccentrically located from the perimeter of member (6) [11 mm off centre]. It will be appreciated by 20 those skilled in the art that this permits a range of positions of aperture (7) depending on the positioning of third member (6) in aperture (5) of second member (4).

In preferred embodiments the second (4) and third (6) members are also constructed of materials (such as mild steel) to allow planar rotation of the third 25 member (6) within the aperture (5) of second member (4) such that the position of 11 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR aperture (7) of third member (6) can be adjusted in an orbit around the centre of third member (7).

It will be further appreciated that adjustment of the position of aperture (7) of third member (6) in combination with adjustment of aperture (5) of the second member 5 (4) in the manner previously described permits a much larger range of positions of aperture (7) than would be the case if apertures (5) and (7) were not both eccentrically located. For this reason eccentric location of the apertures of the second, third and subsequent members is desirable, but not necessary to achieve the advantages of the invention.

Figure 7 shows all three members (first (1), second (4) and third (6)) prior to assembly (in direction A).

Use of the invention will now be described with reference to the fixing of a steel I-beam to a concrete wall element in which the wall element has had female threaded anchors cast in during the construction phase and in which those cast in 15 members correspond with conventional bolts. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this example is illustrative only and alternative applications are envisaged.

In use, the first member (1) is welded to the I-beam (not shown) about an aperture in a flange on the beam. It is important, for assembly purposes, that the smaller 20 part of aperture (2) (ie A-A) abuts the flange of the beam, rather than the larger part (B-B).

The beam is then manoeuvred so that aperture of first member (1) is aligned with the threaded female member. The advantage of the present invention is that, due to the relative size of aperture (2) of first member (1) with respect to the female 25 member / shaft of the corresponding bolt, precise alignment is not necessary - the 12 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR threaded member simply needs to be visible through aperture (2).

The second member (4) is then inserted into the aperture (2) of the first member (1) oriented so that the smallest outside dimension (C-C) faces the flange of the beam. The co-operating tapered profiles of aperture (2) of first member (1) and external 5 perimeter of second member (4) engage with each other on inserting substantially aligning second member (4) within aperture (2) of first member (1). As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, at this stage, prior to application of the fixture element, first and second member are in loose arrangement, permitting adjustment of the positioning of aperture (5) of second member (4) by rotation of 10 second member (4) within aperture (2) of first member (1). Again, precise alignment of aperture (5) is not necessary. The female threaded member need only be viewed through aperture (5).

Third member (6) is then inserted into aperture (5) of second member (4) in like fashion to second member (4) previously described ensuring that the smallest 15 external diameter (F-F) faces the flange. External taper (6A) engages with the corresponding profile (5B) of aperture (5) of second member (4) in the manner previously described. Once again, third member (6) will be in loose arrangement within aperture (5) prior to application of the fixing element allowing aperture (7) to be adjusted to correspond with the female threaded member. Further adjustment of 20 second member (4) may be required to achieve this.

Following the above assembled resting arrangement of members (as shown in Figures 8 and 9), a fixing element (in the preferred embodiment, a bolt (not shown)) is inserted into aperture (7) and engages with the female threaded member. Tightening of the fixing element will cause the above described tapered surfaces to 25 bear against each other and progressively lock the relative position of all three members. 13 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIW61 LR It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present arrangement (as shown in Figures 8 and 9) ensures minimal slippage about the fixture element as the said members reduce the size of aperture (2) as each member is inserted during alignment.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention the body of members (other than the largest member) and corresponding apertures of all members are circular. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this permits infinite degrees of rotation during alignment of the apertures prior to locking of the members to the building elements. However other shaped bodies and apertures which provide a 10 more limited range of adjustment (such as, for example, a splined body and corresponding aperture, or square body and multi-point aperture) are envisaged.

Similarly it will be appreciated that in preferred embodiments corresponding tapers are utilised to provide alignment and progressive locking of the members within their respective apertures. However other arrangements might equally be utilised, 15 for example a projection or projections might be provided around the bottom of each aperture against which the body of the corresponding member will abut to prevent it passing through the body of the next largest member, and accordingly to facilitate locking when the fixture element is applied and tightened.

Thus, preferred embodiments of the present invention may have a number of 20 advantages over the prior art which can include: • The arrangement of the nested members with eccentric apertures on the second, third and subsequent members allows a broad range of adjustment of the position of those apertures relative to one another and relative to the fixing element. This arrangement provides the significant advantage of 25 being able to substantially increase the size of the aperture for the fixture in 14 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR the building element (for example the aperture in the flange of a beam) to assist with initial alignment, and then to progressively reduce of the size of the aperture through the insertion of subsequent members to a size compliant with slippage standards.

• Once positioned and clamped the members cannot move in any direction and are capable of transmitting tensile and shear loads in any direction without slip or movement.

• Thus, the engagement between the members allows for non-slip structural connections to be made between any like or non-like materials where it is difficult to locate the fixing points to sufficiently tight tolerances to produce a normal structural connection; • The invention further allows for some adjustment when fixing a second building element to a first fixed element (such as a floor or wall section) which may be important where a level application of the second building element is desirable. For example, in practice cast in female elements are set into a floor or wall section by hand and may not always be in line. If a wall section is subsequently joined to the concrete wall or floor section following the line of cast in anchors will result in an uneven wall section. The present invention permits some adjustment of the positioning of that wall section relative to the cast in anchors and therefore permits the wall section to be fixed level or square notwithstanding any variation in the anchors.

• The applications for such an adjustable washer system are diverse, examples of which are: o structural connections to pre-cast walls; 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR o connections between pre-cast walls; o fixing machinery bases to concrete floors; o fixing seating to concrete floors; o fixing curtain walls of fascia panels to buildings, and o fixing handrails to structures such as bridges or decks.

Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the appended claims. 16 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR

Claims (16)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A washer system for a fixing element, the system including a plurality of members of differing size wherein • each member has a body and an aperture with side walls; • the aperture of each member is adapted to receive the body of the next smallest member in a substantially planar nested arrangement; • the aperture of at least one member other than the largest member is located eccentrically within the body of the said member; and characterised in that: • the side walls of the aperture of the largest member are tapered within the range >0° to 5°.

2. A washer system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the aperture of at least one member other than the largest member is adapted to receive part of a fixing element.

3. A washer system as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the members) other than the largest member are locked in its/their respective aperture when the fixing element is in its fixed or tightened position.

4. A washer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the aperture of every member other than the largest member is located eccentrically within the body of the said member. 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR

5. A washer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the largest member is adapted for fixture to a building element.

6. A washer system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the largest member is adapted for fixture to a building element by welding.

7. A washer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the largest member includes means for aligning the member with the building element.

8. A washer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, which includes one or more intermediate members inserted between the largest and smallest members.

9. A washer system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the perimeter of the body and the side walls of the aperture of the intermediate member are tapered.

10. A washer system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the taper is within the range >0° - 5°.

11. A washer system as claimed in claims 9 or 10, wherein the taper of the perimeter and side wall is 5°.

12. A washer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the members are arranged to allow planar rotation of members other than the largest member within their corresponding aperture such that the position of the aperture of each said member can be adjusted in an orbit around the centre of said member.

13. A washer system as claimed in any one of claim 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR aperture of the smallest member is adapted to receive a fixing element.

14. A method for use of a washer system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 13, characterised by the steps of: a) Attaching the largest member to a first building element about an aperture on said building element; b) Aligning the aperture of the largest member with a fixing element on or within a second building element; c) Inserting the body of the next smallest member in a substantially planar nested arrangement within the open aperture of the larger member; d) Rotating and aligning the aperture of said next smallest member within a region that corresponds with the fixing element of said second building element; e) If necessary, repeating steps c) and d) for third and subsequent members; f) Inserting a second fixing element into the open aperture of the smallest member such that the said second fixing element corresponds with said first fixing element of said second building element; and g) Tightening said second fixing element to lock the relative positions of the members and to lock said first building element to said second building element.

15. A washer system substantially as herein described with reference to and 19 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF W,2. 1 1 MAK 2009 RECEIVED 560239 James & Wells Ref: 232572DIV/61 LR as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

16. A method of using a washer system substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings. ITW NEW ZEALAND LIMITED by their authorised agents — JAMES & WELLS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF Ni. I I ma* 2089 RKCP | y e p 20