US2676679A

US2676679A - Joint construction

Info

Publication number: US2676679A
Application number: US35392A
Authority: US
Inventors: Manley R Price
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1948-06-26
Filing date: 1948-06-26
Publication date: 1954-04-27
Anticipated expiration: 1971-04-27

Description

April 27, 1954 MLR pRlCE I JQINT CONSTRUCTION Filed June 26, 1948 F1 -3 INVENTOR MANLEY R. Pmca ATTORNEY expensive equipment and skill. :m'ethod aims to provide a quickly operable, rattle andvibrationrproof.clipeon system not-requiring Patented Apr. 27, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,676,679 JOINTCONSTRUCTION Manley R. Price, Lakewood, Ohio Application June 26, 1948, Serial No. 35,392

1 The invention relates primarily to a simple and effective means for securing an elongated structural building element to another or similar element, as in crossing relationship, thereby indicating the principal object.

part of a suspended ceiling construction and acoustical treatment embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a full scale front view of one form of spring clip hereof; Fig. 3 is a similar view of the clip when operating to secure a nailing channel to a carrying member, both shown;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the carrying member, clip and nailing channel, as indicated on Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the clip in a form thereof adapted to be made from Wire stock (shown in mounted position); and 1 Fig. 6 is a front view according to Fig. 5'with the carrier member shown diagrammatically.

Fig. '1 illustrates a portion of a carrying member' I of typical form, being one of a plurality of sheet metal channels such as may be supported from a roof structure or the like, not shown, as by lugs, brackets or wires. The acoustical treat- 'ment illustrated includes nailing ground channels 2 (one shown) to which paneling such as laminated screw-holding board assemblies 3 may be attached as shown for example in my Patent 2,242,884, May 20, 1941. Acoustical tile are adapted to be fastened to the paneling, a portion of one such tile being shown at 4. 1 H

Members on the order of the nailing ground channels 2 are customarily secured to carrying, .members such as l by wire tie devices, usually twisted tightly together at their ends. Another method is to weld'the members together. Many forms of metalnclips have been devised for the purpose but without displacing to any great extent the older but timestaking method of wiring the members together. Welding demands special The present 3 Claims. (Cl. .189-35),

special instruction or skill or auxiliary equipment or tools at the Work site, thus indicating a further object.

The nailing ground channels 2, as shown, are inverted hemi-cylindrical troughs 5, Figs. 3 and 4, with generally parallel outer side walls 5 and contiguous, oppositely disposed, supporting flanges 1. Suitably attached to or carried by the channels or troughs 5 (see Patent 2,160,794) are rods 8. The panel elements 3 are secured against the open sides of the channels by nails I0 which are clinched about the rods 8 as illustrated particularly in Figs. 3 and 4.

An improvement hereof in the nailing channels comprises making the channels with transverse oblique or helical fiutes formed by transverse rooves i l in the channel walls which insure that the points of the nails, as driven intothe channels, will be disaligned from the shanks so as to curl about the rods 8 in helical form as shown in Fig. 4.

The nails l D have flat shank portions l2, Fig. 4, relatively thin cylindrical penetrating point portions l3 and thickened cylindrical shank portions l4 adjacent suitable heads I5.

The claimed subject matter hereof, as illustrated by Figs. 1 through 4, is embodied in spring clips 20 (one shown), each of which is made as a single piece stamping of relatively light gage spring metalstock. The clip will be described and claimed, for convenience only, in its illustrated position or as connecting two structural members each of which extends horizontally. Obviously the clip can be mounted in any conceivable position depending upon the direction of extent of the members (e. g. channels and 2 representative of already known construction) connected by the clip.

The mainsupporting body of the clip icincludes the substantially imperforate and rectangular upper panel portion 2 l and short depending flange 22 thereof. A central leg 23 depends from the panel 2! on the side thereof opposite the flange 22, and the lower end portion 24 of the leg is formed as. a double or compound curved spring tongue or clasp extending generally parat 24:10, Fig. 4. The parts or portions of the clip thus far described form a generally C-shaped spring clasp approximately complementary to the carrying member I; and it may be here noted that the; shapes and. proportions of said parts of vertical portion, may

the spring clasp may vary considerably in accord-- ance with the cross sectional shape of the carrying members to be accommodated. The hook, for example, formed as shown by the

portions

2 I, 22 and 23 has especially to be shaped according to the cross sectional contour of the portion of the carrying member engaged thereby. The clip will fit I-beam type and hollow rectangular box type carrying members without modification except as to size.

At opposite sides of the vertical portion of the leg 23 and in the principal plane thereof are a pair of operatively identical

latch arms

25 and 28 adapted for snap-holding engagement with respective flanges I of the nailing ground members 2. The normal or unstrained relationship or position of the

arms

25 and 26 is according to Fig. 2, their latching or operating relationship to each other and the nailing ground flanges being illustrated in Fig. 3.

The

latch arms

25 and 26 are preferably yieldably maintained in their normal somewhat converging relationship (Fig. 2) by slightly bowed or relatively arched formations of the supporting panel 2| as at 2! and 28; and, since the shearedout slots 29 which define the inner or relatively adjacent edges of the latch arms may be extended upwardly far enough to intersect the panel 2| (particular form illustrated), the arms can be swung apart in their own planes solely by slight deflection of the

panel portions

21 and 28. Upwardly converging portions 30 of said inner edges of the arms are positioned for camming engagement by the flanges I of the nailing ground members 2; and horizontal notches or throats 3| at the upper limits of the camming edge portions 30 receive and strongly retain said flanges I in spring strained engagement with the outer edges thereof. The notches 3| are so located as freely to receive the flanges I when the member 2 is pressed against the lower flange of the carrying member and such upward pressing requires a deflection of one of the bowed portions 24a or 24b (Fig. 4) of the spring tongue 24 in engagement with the top surface of the associated channel 5, as evident by comparison of Figs. 3 and 4. Thus, after the flanges l are seated in their latching notches 3| of the various clips, the tongues 24 continue to press downwardly on the nailing ground members flanges 1 thereof to make the construction rattle and vibration proof.

If the member to be supported by the clip 20 has coplanar flanges extending oppositely toward instead of away from each other, then obviously the cam surfaces 35 and notches 3| would be placed on the relatively outward edges of the latch arms instead of their near edges.

If desired, the leg 23, which is vertically rigid with the top panel 2| of the clip as provision against movement in the principal plane of its be made wide enough at its bottom end to engage the inner surfaces of the side walls 6 of the nailing ground members as a key, further to stabilize the construction without interference with the free swinging motion of the

latch arms

25 and 26 as necessary in order to snap-lock the nailing ground channels to the carrying members I In'mounting the clips and nailing ground channels, the upper panel and flange 2|, 22 of each clip is hooked over the upper flange of the associated carrying member I and the lower clasping portion (tongue 24) is then sprung over the lower flange, that operation being Iacilitated by centrally between the engaged the curved spring portion 2% which due to the length of the tongue is deflected the necessary distance without causing localized bending strain at any part of the supporting leg 23.

In latching the nailing ground members 2 to a series of clips, the recommended procedure is for the workman to grasp the first clip and member 2 in one hand, pressing downwardly on the top panel 2| as with the index finger of that hand in order to maintain the latching notches 3| in flange-receiving position; and then first hooking one flange I into its latching notch 3| (both hands now holding the nailing ground and locally turning it about its axis as required), and finally pressing the other flange I upwardly into latched position by swinging the member 2 about the already notch-engaged flange as a fulcrum. The remaining clips can be similarly engaged since the nailing ground illustrated is capable of being locally twisted the necessary amount where not already fully anchored by a clip 20.

When the nailing ground or other secured members are of such stiff construction that they cannot be locally twisted, then only one of the clips of the series would be attached as described (by turning the ground member about its axis to engage one notch 3| and then rotating the member to engage the other notch) and the rest of the clips would be engaged by the nailing ground member merely by a straight upward motion on part of said member while successively holding the clip panels 2| tightly against the top flange of the carrying member.

It is contemplated that the necessary spring effect on part of the

latching arms

25 and 26 can be secured other than by the swinging of the arms edgewise about supporting

spring portions

21 and 28 of the clips. That may be accomplished by substituting for the camming edges 30 and notches 3| upwardly converging spring lips (not illustrated) so directed (as at right angles to the principal planes of the arms) that the lips may serve as spring latching elements and guiding cams to receive the nailing ground flanges. Such a construction when made of sheet spring stock necessarily lacks the compactness and resiliency of the illustrated arrangement described above.

The clips may be made of uniform section wire stock as shown by Figs. 5 and 6 at I20 and have very much the same operating and mounting characteristics asdescribed in connection with Figs. 1-4, but at considerably greater expense for equivalent strength and stability. Fig. 5 shows a central loop of the wire stock I24 formed to provide the lower spring clasp (comparable to tongue 24) vertical stretches I23 (corresponding to the depending leg 23) hook-forming loop portions I21 and 22 for engagement with the top flange portion of the carrying member of the form shown, and vertical spring arms I25 and I26 which carry upwardly converging free end portions I30 the top ends |3| of which provide latching shoulders comparable to those afforded by the lower edges of the notches 3|. Operation of the wire-formed clips is believed obvious from the description previously given in connection with the preferred form.

Terms upwardly, horizontally, etc., whenused in the claims are for convenience of definition,

' not as limitations.

versely positioned horizontally extending carrier channel disposed with its web vertical and its flanges horizontal; a. resilient metal clip comprising a channel-shaped body wih a hooked top portion embracing the top portion of the carrier channel and, therebelow, a relatively longer bottom portion in spring-clasping frictional engagement with the bottom of the carrier channel while the top portion of the clip is hooked over the top of the carrier channel, said body having, at respective sides of the common vertical plane of the hooking and clasping portions thereof and close to the carrier member, two arms depending from the top portion of the body in spring latching engagement with the horizontal flanges of the first mentioned structural member, said arms, at their lower ends, beyond the bottom of the carrier member, having upwardly converging camming surfaces facing toward each other and terminating upwardly at generally horizontal latching shoulders in retaining engagement with the horizontal flanges of the first described structural member.

2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the bottom, spring-clasping portion of the clip has a cantilever spring portion extending beyond the lower flange of the carrier channel transversely thereof into yielding abutment with the first mentioned structural member so that the horizontal flanges of that member are maintained forcibly to contact with the latching shoulders of the clip arms.

3. In building constructions: a horizontally extending structural member, having at its top side two substantially horizontal flanges extending in opposite directions from the member; a transversely positioned horizontally extending carrier channel disposed with its web vertical and its flanges horizontal; a one piece resilient sheet metal clip comprising an upright body the carrier member on three sides, one leg of the inverted U being extended downwardly close to and alongside the carrier channel in the form of two side-by-side elongated latching arms spaced apart from each other in the principal vertical plane of the sheet metal of which the arms are formed, the lower ends of the arms extending beyond the lower limits of the carrier member, the lower ends of the latching arms, beyond the bottom of the carrier member, having upwardly converging camming edge surfaces facing toward each other and terminating upwardly at generally horizontal latching shoulder in retaining engagement with the horizontal flanges of the first described structural member, the horizontal portion of the top of the clip providing the necessary spring force to enable the arms to act as spring latches without requiring any flexure of the arms themselves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 540,693 Seely June 11, 1895 796,468 Streeter Aug. 8, 1905 1,218,283 La Morte Mar. 6, 1917 1,507,652 Youngberg Sept. 9, 1924 1,683,364 Loucks Sept. 4, 1928 1,804,452 Barton May 12, 1931 1,997,939 Loucks Apr. 16, 1935 2,017,911 Maske et a1 Oct. 22, 1935 2,026,117 Balduf Dec. 31, 1935 2,160,345 Syak May 30, 1939 2,259,594 Venzie Oct. 21, 1941 2,347,961 Olsen -May 2, 1944 2,485,090 Finch Oct. 18, 1949 2,499,278 Olsen Feb. 28, 1950