US3106270A

US3106270A - Cap construction for building columns

Info

Publication number: US3106270A
Application number: US74570A
Authority: US
Inventors: Paul E Lichty; Charles J Giegel
Original assignee: AKRON PRODUCTS CO
Current assignee: AKRON PRODUCTS CO
Priority date: 1960-12-08
Filing date: 1960-12-08
Publication date: 1963-10-08
Anticipated expiration: 1980-10-08

Description

1963 VP. E. LICHTY ETAL 3,106,270

CAP CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDING COLUMNS Filed Dec. 8, 1960 I \\\%i\ M L Q2 "/9 INVENTOR. l Paid 5 Liz/my BY Charles! z'eged WJ m ATTORNEY? United States Patent Office 3,106,270 CAP CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDING COLUMN Paul E. Lichty, Medina, and Charles J. Giegel, Wadsworth, Ohio, assignors to The Akron Products Company, Selville, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Dec. 8, 196%, Ser. No. 74,570

5 Claims. ('31. 139-42) ly and easily attached to conventional I-beams and the like.

The present invention is adapted to be utilized in building constructions wherein a column is used as a support between a footing andan overlying beam. In mostinstances, the beam of the I type, and the supporting column is generally cylindrical in configuration; The column may in certain instances be filled with a substance such as concrete, but in most cases is of a hollow construction.

The cap construction of the present invention is rigidly fixed to the upper end of a building column and includes connecting means for operatively connecting a cap construction to an overlying I-beam or the like.

Such a cap construction is assembled at a building site, and accordingly, it is a particularfeature of the present invention to provide an arrangement which permits the cap construction to be installed by relatively unskilled labor with a minimum of time and effort. vMany prior art constructions employ arrangements wherein holes must be drilled through the beam whereupon bolts are inserted through these holes for securing a cap plate to the beam. This is, of course, a time-consuming operation which is completely eliminatedin the present invention.

.In the construction of the present invention, a pair of elongated ribbon-like connecting means are. employed, these ribbons being formedof deform-able and pliable material such that they canbe readily bent into the desired operative position. With this construction, it is possible fora laborer at a building site to deform the connecting means in such a manner as to operatively connect the cap construction to an overlying beam thereby completely eliminating the necessityof drillinghny sort of holes or for that matter performing any operation whatsoever onthe associated beam.

The cap construction of the present invention includes a flat plate formed of heavy-duty rigid material which is preferably substantially rectangular in configuration and includes an upper surface upon which the under surface of a beam is adapted to rest.

A pair of spaced recesses are provided in the upper :surface of the plate, and holes are formed'through the plate in communication with the. opposite ends of each recess. A pair of elongated connecting means are provided inthe form of straps which are threaded through one pair of openings. and lie within one of the recesses.

The opposite ends of these" straps are, bent up around the opposite longitudinal edges of the. plate and the associated opposite longitudinal edges of the beam, the terstruction such that theymay be readily deformed into the desired end position. Also, the construction of the separate deformable connecting means permits the cap construction to be operatively associated with beams hav- 3,10%,2'19 Patented Oct. 8, 1963 ing a lower flange of varying widths thereby providing a maximum degree of versatility of the apparatus.

An additional feature of the present invention is the provision of positioning lugs depending from the under surface of the cap plate, these lugs being adapted to engage either the inner or outer surface of an associated supporting column for accurately centering the plate with respect to the column and assisting in maintaining the plate in proper operative position.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and novel cap construction for building columns which may be installed with a minimum of time and effort and which completely eliminates the necessity of forming any holes or special attachment means in an associated beam.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a cap construction for building columns including a very rigid support plate and yet which includes connecting means which may be readily deformed into operative position. 5

A further object of the invention is to provide a cap construction for building columns which is adapted to fit different size beams.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cap construction for building columns including positionmg lugs for centering the cap plate of the device relative to a supporting column. t

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a cap construction for building columns which is simple and quite inexpensive in construction, and yet which 30 is sturdy and effective in use.

Other objects and many attendant advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when considered in connection with the specification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the cap construction of the present invention in operative position at the top of a building column and supporting an-I- beam thereon;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cap plate of the present invention; a

FIG. 3 is a top view of the cap plate of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 44 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along lure 55 of FIG. 1 looking in the-direction of the arrows; and I BIG. 6 is a perspective view of the connecting means of the present invention prior to assembly thereof.

Refenring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 a substantially vertically extending building column indicated generally by reference numeral 10 which is substantially cylindrical in configuration, the column being supported in any suitable manner by some sort of a footing. The top end of the building column 10 is operatively connected with the novel 7 ,cap construction of the present invention including a cap plate 11, the upper edge of the building column being preferably permanently secured thereto as by a circular head of weld as indicated by reference numeral 12.

A pair of

connecting means

13 and 14 in the form of elongated deformable straps are threaded through the plate 11 as will be hereinafter more fully described, the'straps being bent into the operative position shown for retaining the cap construction in operative position relative to the beam 15. It is apparent that the under surface 16 of the beam is adapted to rest upon the upper surface of the flat cap plate 11 to be supported thereby. The beam 15 is of the I type and includes a central flange portion 17 formed integral with an upperlaterally extending fiange 18 and a lower laterally extending flange 19 as is conventional in the art.

Referring now to FlGS. 2 and 3, the construction of the plate 11 will become more readily apparent.

FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom view of the plate according to the present invention, and as seen in this figure, a first pair of

openings

25 and 26 are formed therethrough adjacent one end edge 27 thereof, and a second pair of

openings

28 and 29 are formed therethrough adjacent the opposite and edge 30 thereof. The purpose of these openings will appear hereinafter.

Projecting

portions

32 and 33 extend outwardly from the under surface of the plate between the pairs of

openings

25, 26 and 28, 29 respectively.

A first set of positioning lugs 35 shown as being four in number and substantially square in cross-sectional configuration also extend outwardly from the under surface of the plate, a central aperture 36 being formed through the plate. A second set of positioning lugs 37 also extend outwardly from the under surface of the plate. The purpose of the positioning lugs is to accurately center and hold the plate in position relative to the upper end of a supporting post.

By providing two sets of

positioning lugs

35 and 37, different size posts may be accommodated. A first phantom line A indicates the inner diameter of one size supporting column or post with which the lugs 35 are adapted to cooperate for centering the plate with respect thereto. A second phantom line B indicates the outer diameter of another size post with which the positioning lugs 37 are adapted to cooperate for centering the plate with respect to said post. It is apparent that lugs 35 are adapted to engage the inner surface of one size column while the positioning lugs 37 are adapted to engage the outer surface of another size column. Accordingly, an extremely simple and effective construction is provided for accurately and positively centering the plate 11 with respect to different size supporting columns.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 3, it will be seen that recesses 35 are provided in the upper surface of the plate 11 in directly opposed relationship to the outwardly projecting lugs 35 extending from the under surface of the plate. In a similar manner, recesses 37 are formed in the upper surface of the plate in directly opposed relationship to the lugs 37 extending from the under surface of the plate.

A pair of elongated recesses 32' and 33' are formed in directly opposed relationship to the

projections

32 and 33 extending from the under surface of the plate, and it will be noted that

openings

25, 26 are in communication with recess 32' at opposite ends thereof while the

openings

28, 29 are in communication with the opposite ends of recess 33'.

Referring now to FIG. 6, one of the connecting means 13 employed in the present invention is illustrated, this connecting means being initially of a substantially U- shaped configuration and including a base portion 41 with

leg portions

42 and 43 extending substantially normally from the opposite ends of the base portion 41. It will be understood that connector means 14 is of the same construction as connecting means 13. This connecting means is formed of a readily deformable material such as mild steel, whereas the main plate 11 is formed of a very rigid heavy-duty type steel or the like. Accordingly, whereas it is virtually impossible to manually bend the plate 11, the connectingmeans 13 in the form of an elongated strap may be readily deformed manually or with the assistance of a suitable tool.

The distance between

legs

42 and 43 is substantially equal to the distance between the adjacent edges of the pair of openings communicating with opposite ends of each of recesses 32' and 33'. Accordingly, the U-shaped connecting means 13 can initially be inserted from the upper surface of the plate means such that the

leg portions

42 and 43 of the connecting means project downwardly through the

openings

25, 26 or 28, 29 in the plate.

When in initially assembled position, the U-shaped connecting means 40 will be positioned such that the base portion 41 thereof is seated within one of the recesses 32' or 33'. The thickness of the base portion 41 is substantially equal to the depth of the associated recess 32' or 33 such that the upper surface of the base portion 41 of the connecting means will be disposed substantially flush with the upper surface of the plate 11.

As seen in FIG. 4, the plate 11 is supported upon the upper open end of the hollow cylindrical supporting column 10 and welded thereto with the positioning lugs 35 disposed within the hollow interior of the column. Since the base portion 41 of the connecting means is flush with the upper surface of the plate 11, the under surface 16 of the beam is adapted to rest flush upon the upper surface of the plate as shown.

FIG. 5 illustrates the final position of each of the connecting means, and it will be noted that the

leg portions

42 and 43 have been bent up around the opposite

longitudinal edges

50 and 51 of the plate 11 as well as the opposite longitudinal edges 52 and 53 of the beam. The terminal ends 42 and 43 of legs 42 and 4-3 have been bent down against the upper surfaces of the lower flange 19 on opposite sides of the central flange 17 of the beam, and thereby the entire cap construction is operatively connected to the beam as well as the supporting column. As mentioned previously, it is evident that the initially 'U-shaped connecting means 13 or 14 may be deformed into the finished position as seen in FIG. 5 either manually or with the use of a simple tool since the connecting means is formed of readily deformable material.

As seen in FIG. 5, each of the connecting means is in fact threaded through the plate since the elongated straps comprising the connecting means extend around the edges of the plate up through one of the openings therein, thence along a recess formed in the plate, and then out of the opening at the opposite end of the recess and around the opposite longitudinal edge of the plate.

It is evident that when in the operative position shown, the connecting means will effectively prevent any relative sidewise or lengthwise motion of the plate and attached supporting column with respect to the beam.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there is provided a new and novel cap construction for building columns which can be installed with a minimum of time and eflfort since it is merely necessary to place the U- shaped connecting means through the openings provided in the plate and into the recesses thereof whereupon the beam can be placed on the upper surface of the plate, and the ends of the connecting means may then be bent up into the final operative position. It is obviously not necessary to weld the connecting means in place nor is it necessary to drill any extra openings in the beam itself.

A very rigid and sturdy plate is provided for supporting the beam, and yet at the same time a readily deformable connecting means is incorporated in the construction.

The cap construction is adapted to be used with different size beams since it is evident that if the beam should have a lower flange of greater wvidth than the plate, the

leg portions

42 and 43 of the connecting means can still be bent around the opposite longitudinal edges of the lower flange of the beam. If the beam should be quite a bit greater in width than the plate, different size connecting means may be employed, and for this purpose, a connecting means having longer leg portions will readily accommodate for the difference in Width between the lower flange of the beam and the plate.

The apparatus also includes positioning lugs for accurately centering the plate with, respect to a supporting column. The overall apparatus is quite simple and inexpensive in construction, and yet is quite sturdy and effective when in use. 1

As this invention may be embodied in several forms Without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are therefore intended tobe embraced by those claims.

We claim:

:1. A cap construction for building columns comprising a flat substantially rectangular cap plate having opposite longitudinal edges and opposite end edges, said cap plate being formed of heavy-duty rigid sheet material and including an upper and an under surface, said upper surface having a pair of recesses for-med therein, said plate having two pairs of openings formed therethrough, each opening of one of said pairs being in communication with an end portion of an associated recess, a pair of elongated connecting means formed of pliable material, each of of said connecting means being threaded through one of said pairs of openings and lying within one of said recesses, said connecting means being of such a thickness as to lie substantially flush with the upper surface of the plate, the opposite end portions of each of said connecting means extending from said openings and being adapted to be bent up around the longitudinal edges of the plate and the longitudinal edges of an associated beam for securing the cap construction in operative position relative to a beam, and a plurality of positioning l-ugs depending from the under surface of said plate for positioning the plate upon the top end of an associated building column.

2. In combination, a substantially cylindrical building column, a cap plate rigidly secured to the upper end of said building column, said cap plate being substantially rectangular in configuration and including opposite longitudinal edges and opposite end edges, said cap plate including an upper surface and an under surface, said upper surface having a pair of spaced recesses formed therein, said recesses extending substantially parallel with the opposite end edges of the plate, said plate having two pairs of openings formed therethrough, each pair of openings being in communication with opposite end portions of one of said recesses, a pair of elongated connecting means formed of deformable material, each of said connecting means being threaded through one of said pairs of openings and lying within an associated recess, a beam including an under surface supported upon the upper surface of said plate, said connecting means being of such a thickness so as to lie substantially flush with the upper surface of said plate, the opposite end portions of each of said connecting means extending outwardly from said openings and being bent up around the opposite longitudinal edges of the plate and the opposite associated longitudinal edges of the beam whereby the cap plate is operatively connected.

3. A cap construction for building columns comprising in combination a flat plate formed of heavy-duty rigid sheet material of substantial thickness and having upper and lower parallel surfaces, the plate having two pairs of spaced openings formed therethrough, the pair of openings being located adjacent to opposite edges of the plate, the plate having a long portion of the material thereof offset from the lower surface between and extend-' ing from the openings of each pair whereby a long recess is provided in the upper surface of the plate terminating at each end at an opening, a plurality of elements carried by and projecting from the lower surface of the plate between said oifset portions and positioned around a center lying midway between the said offset portions for engagement with the top end of a column to center the plate thereon, and an elongate connecting means of deformable material associated with each pair of openings and each connecting means having end portions extensible through a pair of openings with an intermediate portion lying in the adjacent recess and substantially flush with the upper surface of the plate and each connecting means being of a length to have the said end portions thereof bent upwardly across the adjacent edges of the plate and adjacent longitudinal edges of a beam resting upon the upper surface of the plate.

4. The invention according to claim 3 with another plurality of elements projecting from the lower surface of the plate and positoned around said center and defining a circular area for engagement with a wall of a cylindrical column having a different diameter from a cylindrical column wall with which the first named elements are adapted to engage.

5. The invention according to claim 4 wherein the said elements positioned around said center constitute portions of the material of the plate extending fromthe said lower surface of the plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 813,318 McCarthy Feb. 20, 1906 1,052,207 Beckman Feb. 4, 1913 1,547,175 Lally July 28, 1925 1,672,171 Reis June 5, 1928 1,719,823 Eklof July 9, 1929 2,812,834 Le Jeune Nov. 12, 1957 2,900,056 Greulich Aug. 18, 1959 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No, 3, 106,270 October 8, 1963 Paul E, Lichty et a1.

error appears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certified that t the said Letters Patent should read as ent requiring correction and the, corrected below.

and in the heading to the printed In the grant, line 3,

Ohio", each occurrence,

specification, line 5, for "Selville, read Seville, Ohio Signed and sealed this 21st day of April 1964.

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

Claims

1. A CAP CONSTRUCTION FOR BUILDING COLUMNS COMPRISING A FLAT SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR CAP PLATE HAVING OPPOSITE LONGITUDINAL EDGES AND OPPOSITE END EDGES, SAID CAP PLATE BEING FORMED OF HEAVY-DUTY RIGID SHEET MATERIAL AND INCLUDING AN UPPER AND AN UNDER SURFACE, SAID UPPER SURFACE HAVING A PAIR OF RECESSES FORMED THEREIN, SAID PLATE HAVING TWO PAIRS OF OPENINGS FORMED THERETHROUGH, EACH OPENING OF ONE OF SAID PAIRS BEING IN COMMUNICATION WITH AN END PORTION OF AN ASSOCIATED RECESS, A PAIR OF ELONGATED CONNECTING MEANS FORMED OF PLIABLE MATERIAL, EACH OF OF SAID CONNECTING MEANS BEING THREADED THROUGH ONE OF SAID PAIRS OF OPENINGS AND LYING WITHIN ONE OF SAID RECESSES, SAID CONNECTING MEANS BEING OF SUCH A THICKNESS AS TO LIE SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH WITH THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE PLATE, THE OPPOSITE END PORTIONS OF EACH OF SAID CONNECTING MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID OPENINGS AND BEING ADAPTED TO BE BENT UP AROUND THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF THE PLATE AND THE LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF AN ASSOCIATED BEAM FOR SECURING THE CAP CONSTRUCTION IN OPERATIVE POSITION RELATIVE TO A BEAM, AND A PLURALITY OF POSITIONING LUGS DEPENDING FROM THE UNDER SURFACE OF SAID PLATE FOR POSITIONING THE PLATE UPON THE TOP END OF AN ASSOCIATED BUILDING COLUMN.