US3448552A

US3448552A - Expansion joint cover assembly

Info

Publication number: US3448552A
Application number: US628615A
Authority: US
Inventors: Dale A Schmitt; Lowell K Cheatwood
Original assignee: Metalines Inc
Current assignee: Metalines Inc
Priority date: 1967-04-05
Filing date: 1967-04-05
Publication date: 1969-06-10
Anticipated expiration: 1986-06-10

Description

June 10, 1969 A. SCHMITT ET AL 3,448,552

EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY Filed April 5, 1967 INVENTOR ALE ASCHMITT LOWELL K.0HEAT wooo m wdim web ATTORNEYS Was June 10, 1969 sc n- ET AL 3,448,552

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EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY Filed April 5, 1967 Sheet 4 of 4 INVEN TOR DALE A-SCHNu-r'r LOWELL. K.C'HE-A-rwoo| 0215M C un mu;

ATTORNEYS United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An expansion joint cover attached to spring clips aflixed to a building wherein movement of the cover plate relative to the clips causes the cover to be forced against the building and locked in position by a catch on the clip.

Background of the invehlion In many building structures, the walls and ceilings are formed of relatively short sections; this is particularly true in the case of concrete, concrete blocks or brick building walls having relatively high coefficients of expansion. Such short sections arenecessary in order to avoid cracking of the building walls. Expansion spaces are normally provided between the wall sections to allow for thermal expansion and contraction of the sections. However, if the expansion joints are left exposed, they are both unsightly and inadequate for providing weatherproofing. While various cover structures have been provided to cover these expansion joints, many of the known structures are incorporated in the joint itself, making it difficult to repair or replace the joint cover. Other expansion joint covers lie wholly outside of or inside of the vertical surface of the building wall and project from the adjacent surface. Such last mentioned joints are arranged to have sliding contact with at least one of the adjoining wall surfaces during relative expansion and contraction of the building walls. These cover structures do not accommodate relative movement of the building wall sections in directions perpendicular to the common plane through them, although they do accommodate relative movement parallel to the common plane. Another deficiency of many of the conventional cover structures is that they leave much to be desired from an aesthetic or decorative point of view.

An even greater problem with the conventional expansion joint covers is due to the fact that they require considerable time and effort by skilled laborers for installation, repair, and/or removal. Consequently, the use of such conventional expansion joint covers is quite expensive.

Summary of the invention Therefore, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a new and improved expansion joint cover.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a new and improved expansion joint cover which is easily mounted over the expansion joint cover to provide a reliable weatherproofing seal regardless of the direction of expansion of the members forming the expansion joint.

The foregoing objects of this invention are achieved by the use of an expansion joint cover plate having a plurality of spring clips attached thereto. The clips extend laterally from the cover plate and one end of the clip is attached to the building structure in any conventional manner such as a bolt, masonry screw, or the like. The cover plate is then shifted with respect to the spring clips so that it covers the clips and the joint. Moreover, the lateral shifting of the cover plate stresses the spring clips so that they provide an inwardly directed force pulling 3,448,552 Patented June 10, 1969 the cover plate into engagement with the building surface. Seals on the cover plate engage the building on opposite sides of the expansion joint to provide a weatherproofed seal. The cover plate is retained in position by latch engagement between the spring clip and the cover plate.

An importnat feature of the invention resides in the use of a pivotal connection plate connecting the cover plate with the spring clips which provides a substantial amount of free-play movement between the spring clip and the cover plate during the initial stages of the installation such as when the spring clip is being attached to the building wall but which allows substantially no free play between the spring clip and the cover plate after the cover plate has been shifted laterally with respect to the spring clip to stress the spring clip.

Description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the invention for covering an expansion joint formed between substantially co-planar wall sections and illustrates the cover in the final fixed position with portions cut away for clarity;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG- URE l but illustrating the cover in a preliminary position employed during mounting of the cover on the building structure;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the parts in different operative relationship;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 55 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of a spring plate clip and a pivot lever employed for attaching the first embodiment to the building Wall;

FIGURE 7 is a front view of a second embodiment of the invention employed for covering an expansion joint formed between generally perpendicular wall sections and having portions cut away for purposes of clarity;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along lines 88 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along lines 99 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of the second embodiment of this invention shown in an initial stage of application to a building; and

FIGURE 11 is an exploded perspective view of a spring plate and pivot lever employed in the second embodiment.

The first embodiment, generally designated 20, is for covering an expansion joint between two relatively

coplanar wall sections

22 and 24 illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 6. Opening 26 between

sections

22 and 24 is bridged by a U-shaped cover plate 28. Cover plate 28 is preferably formed of extruded aluminum or other lightweight metal. First and

second legs

30 and 32 respectively, are connected by a central web member 34 to form U-shaped cover plate 28. A generally circular rubber gasket or weatherproofing strip 36 is mounted within a recess on the outer extremity of leg 30 as shown in FIG- URE 3. A second weatherproofing strip 38 is mounted within a P-shaped slot in the outer end of leg 32.

An elongated pivot plate 40 (FIG. 6) is received within the confines of a rotary bearing portion 42 centrally located on web 34. Bearing portion 42 is dimensioned so that pivot plate 40 can pivot through an arc of approximately 40 degrees. However, pivot plate 40 is retained within the confines of bearing portion 42 and can only be removed by axially moving pivot plate 40 with respect to the bearing portion 42. This is true because pivot plate 40 is retained within bearing portion 42 by a cylindrical pivot bearing 44 having a greater cross-sectional diameter than the opening between the two sides of bearing portion 42. A Web portion 46 extends outwardly from cylindrical bearing 44 and has a plaate 48 attached to its outer extremity as shown in FIGURE 6. A slot 50 is formed in the outer end of web 46 as shown.

Cover plate 28 can be of any desired convenient length and is attached to the building by a plurality of flexible spring plate clips 60 each of which extends through slot 50 in respective pivot plates 40. Spring plate 60 has a circular opening 62 through which a screw 64 or other suitable fastener is extended to fasten the plate to wall section 22. Plate 60 includes a bias portion 66 which extends outwardly from wall section 22 across opening 26 as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. The outer end of bias portion 66 is bifurcated so that it has legs 68 on either side of a central bias tongue 70 as best illustrated in FIGURE 6. Each leg has a retaining lug 72 extending generally perpendicularly therefrom as shown in FIGURE 6. The other end of clip 60 comprises an outwardly extending catch or latch means 74, the purpose of which will soon become apparent.

Installation of the cover plate is accomplished in a very simple manner. The first step in the installation is the provision of a pivot plate and associated spring plate clip 60 at approximately every twenty inches along the length of the cover plate. This is easily accomplished in that the pivot plates are readily slidable along the length of plate 28 in rotary bearing portion 42. A spring plate clip 60 is mounted in each pivot plate through slot in each plate. The clips are positioned in their leftmost position.

In this position, central tongue is depressed so as to be substantially co-planar with the legs 68 as shown. Consequently, spring clip 60 will tend to remain in the position shown in FIGURE 3 due to the binding effect of tongue 70 on plate 48. However, it should be understood that this restraining force caused by engagement of tongue 70 with plate 48 is quite slight and can easily be overcome. When the clip is in this position, its end having opening 62 extends outwardly of the side of the cover plate 28 as shown in FIGURE 2, and as similarly shown in FIGURE 3. Retaining screws (or other suitable retaining means) are then attached to section 22 by means of a screwdriver or other suitable tool. After all of the screws have been attached to the section, cover plate 28 is then moved to the left by hand as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 4. This movement causes the spring clip to pull downwardly and inwardly on the cover plate to pull it toward opening 26 so that

seals

36 and 38 abut against

wall sections

22 and 24 to provide a weatherproof seal. Cover plate 28 is retained in its leftward position illustrated in FIGURE 5 by virtue of engagement of catch means 74 with the lowermost portion of leg 32 as shown. However, the cover plate can be removed by lifting leg 32 upwardly so as to clear catch 74 and subsequently moving the cover plate to the right.

Wall sections

22 and 24 need not be exactly parallel since the structure provided by the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 6 will maintain a weatherproof seal although considerable variations in the positions of the outer faces of

sections

22 and 24 may occur. It should also be noted that the movement of the facing portions of

sections

22 and 24 toward each other can occur without a loss of weatherproofing. This fact is true because the

flexible seal

36 and 38 will obviously maintain contact with their respective wall sections during the expansions of such sections.

FIGURES 7 through 12 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention employed for covering expansion joint openings formed by substantially

perpendicular wall sections

82 and 84 which have an opening 85 therebetween. A cover for opening 85 is formed by cover plate 86 which is formed of first and second portions 88- and 90 which are substantially perpendicular to each other. A first leg 92 extends outwardly from the end of portion 88 and a second leg 94 extends outwardly from the end of portion 90. A circular tube-like weather seal means 96 is mounted in the end of leg 92 and a flexible seal in the form of a blade 98 extends outwardly from the end of leg 94 to provide a weatherproof seal when the plate 86 is installed. A ratchet arm 100 having a plurality of ratchet teeth along its length also extends outwardly from leg 92 as shown in FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 12 illustrates a pivot plate 102 which provides functions similar to the functions of the pivot plate of the first embodiment. Pivot plate 102 has a cylindrical bearing 104, a web 106 and a right angle plate 108 on the end of web 106 and also includes a slot 110 at the juncture of web 106 and plate 108 as shown. A flexible spring plate clip 112 extends through slot 110 of each pivot plate 102.

Spring plate 112 includes a first portion 114 having an opening 116 through which a screw 118 (or other suitable fastener) is passed to fasten the spring plate to wall section 84. Spring plate 112 also includes a second or bias portion 120 which extends outward from the first portion 114 in a substantially perpendicular manner and is cut away at 122 to provide a central bias tongue 124 the purpose of which will become apparent later. A catch or latch pawl 126 extends outwardly from the end of the second or bias portion 120 of spring plate 112.

The second embodiment is attached to a building structure in a manner similar to the first embodiment. Initially, the elements of the second embodiment are oriented in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 10 so that each spring plate can be attached to a wall portion by a screw 128 or other suitable fasteners. The screw 128 is inserted through opening 116 in the first portion 114 of spring plate 112. The pivot plate 106 and spring plate 112 assemblies can be spaced up to 20 inches apart along the length of cover plate 86 by virtue of the fact that cylindrical bearing 104 is axially slidable in bearing portion of cover plate 86. When all of the spring plate members 112 have been fastened to a wall section 84, the cover plate 86 and pivot plate 102 are moved inwardly toward section 84 from the position illustrated in FIGURE 10 to the position illustrated in FIGURE 11. The direction of movement is illustrated by the arrow 130 in FIGURE 11. Continued movement of plate 86 toward section 84 causes bias tongue 124 to be bent downwardly as slot progresses along the length of the bias portion to engage the bias tongue. This movement also causes catch or latch pawl 126 to engage ratchet bar 100 to successively ride over the teeth of bar 100. However, it should be noted that engagement of catch 126 with the teeth on bar 100 serves to lock plate 86 in its adjusted position as shown in FIGURE 9. Since bar 100 is sloped with respect to leg 88, the movement of plate 86 toward section 84 also serves to depress bias portion 120 of spring 112 from the position illustrated in FIGURE 11 to the locked position illustrated in FIGURE 9. In the FIGURE 9 position, bias portion 120 is bent downwardly so that it exerts a force against bar 100 which tends to move the entire cover toward opening 85. Bias tongue 124 exerts a force on pivot plate 102 which also tends to move the cover plate in the same direction. It is, therefore, obvious that spring plate 112 will cause cover plate 86 to remain in sealing relationship with

wall sections

82 and 84 by virtue of the biassing force provided by bias portion 120 and tongue 124 in combination with the latching provided by pawl 126.

The second embodiment readily allows thermal expansion of

wall sections

82 and 84 in any and all directions without losing a weatherproof seal. Furthermore, it is not absolutely essential that

wall sections

82 and 84 be exactly perpendicular since considerable angular variations canoccur without the loss of the weatherproof seal.

We claim:

1. An expansion joint cover assembly for covering an elongated opening between spaced wall sections, said assembly comprising:

an elongated cover plate adapted to cover said elongated opening; and

elongated spring means formed of thin flexible spring plate stock attached on one end to the exterior of one of said sections and connected intermediate its ends to a central portion of said cover plate to bias said plate toward said opening.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said spring means is connected to said cover plate at a pivot point in a central portion of said cover plate spaced inwardly from the sides thereof.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said cover plate is of planar shape so as to cover an opening between generally coplanar wall sections and additionally includes sealing means along either edge of said cover plate to provide a weatherproof seal over said opening.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said elongated spring means is connected to said cover plate by a pivot plate means which is axially positionable in any desired position along the length of said cover plate.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein each of said pivot plate means includes a web portion having a cylindrical pivot bearing on one end and a slot in said web adjacent the other end of said web with said spring plate extending through said slot.

'6. The device of claim 5 wherein one end of said spring plate is fastened to One end of said wall section and said spring plate has a bifurcated termination on its other end including outwardly spaced legs separated by a central bias tongue and including a retaining lug on the end of each of said legs.

7. The device of claim 2 wherein said cover plate is formed of first and second portions oriented in perpendicular manner to each other to cover an elongated opening formed between perpendicular Wall sections and additionally including sealing means along the edge of each of said first and second portions to provide a weatherproof seal over said opening.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said elongated spring means is connected to said cover plate by a pivot plate means which is axially positionable in any desired position along the length of said cover plate.

9. The device of claim 7 wherein said elongated spring means is connected to said cover plate by a pivot plate means which includes a web portion having a cylindrical pivot bearing on one end and a slot in said web adjacent the other end of said web with said spring plate extending through said slot.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein said spring plate is formed of first and second generally perpendicular spring portions with said first spring means portion being fastened against one of said wall sections and wherein said second spring portion extends through said pivot plate.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein said cylindrical pivot bearing is pivoted in said second cover plate portion and said first cover plate portion includes'ratchet means fixed thereto engageable by a lock pawl on the end of said second spring portion to retain said cover plate in locked position over said elongated opening.

with each spring having a bias portion extending outwardly from said wall section transversely across said elongated opening;

an elongated cover plate means having weather seal means along opposite sides; and

plural connector means on said cover each having a slot through which said bias portion of one of said spring plates is slidably received so that movement of said cover plate transversely of said opening causes said weather seal means to be pressed against said wall sections to provide a weatherproof seal over said opening and also causes said latch means to engage a portion of said cover plate to retain said cover plate in sealing relationship with said opening.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein each of said connector means is pivotably connected to said elongated cover plate means.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein said cover plate means is of planar shape to cover an opening between generally coplanar wall sections.

15. The device of claim 13 wherein said cover plate means is formed of first and second portions oriented in substantially perpendicular relationship to each other to cover an elongated opening formed between substantially perpendicular wall sections and wherein each of said spring members is formed of first and second generally perpendicular spring portions of which said first portion comprises the end fastened to said one of said wall sections and said second spring portion comprises said bias portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,659,678 2/1928 Bennett 52-466 2,081,545 5/1937 Lane 52-211 2,135,048 11/1938 Grifiin 94-18 2,948,994 8/1960 Thom 52-278 3,228,160 1/ 1966 OBrien 52-288 X 3,331,171 7/1967 Hallock 52-288 X 3,372,521 3/1968 Thom 52-395 3,394,639 7/1968 Viehmann 52-395 X FOREIGN PATENTS 162,288 3/ 1955 Australia.

ALFRED C. PERHAM, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 52-395, 466, 717