US3473277A - Timbered building structure - Google Patents

Description

0C*- 21, 1969 c. J. sTRAxGH-r TIMBERED BUILDING' STRUCTURE Filed April 18, 1967 "EVTR ma 1f. freq/H7 fn/ml- Unite lU.S. Ci. 52-233 2 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A timbered building structure having a joiuder arrangement for right angularly disposed timber walls wherein one wall is joined at its end edge, between the ends of a lateral wall by means of T-shaped tongue structure interiitting into a mating substantially identically shaped groove provided in the lateral wall.

Background It is known to construct timbered building structures in which the walls are formed of milled or machined elongate timbers that simulate logs. It is also known to form such walls in which there is an intert between superposed timbers involving a tongue on one number and a groove on the next adjacent member, either above or below, to provide a tight draft-free wall. It is also known to form joining or jointing arrangements between such walls in which there is interlocking in the perpendicularly disposed joints that are formed by arranging one Wall in a right angular relationship to another wall. It has been customary in providing such jointing arrangements to simulate and substantially duplicate the handmade crossed-log joints of the pioneer cabins of the years gone by. In such an arrangement the ends of the individual members of one wall are interposed between the ends or at least between the edges of the individual members of the abutting wall. Portions of the two cross and extend in both right angular directions from the joint. Typical of such arrangements are those shown in the Jensen Patent 2,712,678, and the Erland et al. Patent 2,588,814. A primary ditiiculty with such crossed timber joints is concerned with the milling and machining operations necessary to form such joints. Invariably such 0perations not only require complicated machinery and rather exotic cutting tools but they also do not lend themselves well to straight-line production methods desirable in working wood.

Also it has been found that in the erection of prior units the use of spikes, bolts, pegs, drift-pins, and the like, have been necessary to maintain the joints tight and stable.

A main object of this invention is to provide dimensional timbers of improved design and construction, and to provide certain of them with end tongues and others of them with transverse grooves which intert readily and form, in the erection of a timbered structure, attractive and strong joints in an economical and tightly sealed manner for the production of homes, cottages, cabins, and like timbered structures.

It has been further customary in providing the timbers for the erection of timbered structures to employ solid wooden elements cut from a single tree. Such timbers have normally been cut and manufactured from relatively small logs. As a result they are often cut from heart wood and therefore are subject to dimensional changes, checking, splitting, warping, and other distortional action which, when assembled in a building, tend to rack the walls in an undesirable manner. Recently developed mill techniques and improvements in the as- States arent O ICC sembly of smaller pieces of lumber into larger boards have resulted in the production of dimensional timbers formed of several laminae, at least three in number. A core and two faces are brought into face-to-face relationship with interposed waterproof glue lines between the pieces bonding the assembly into a unitary and elongated element. Employing pieces of like width, by offsetting the intermediate lamina, it is possible with a threelayered timber to provide a tongue on one edge and a groove on the opposite edge. Subsequent milling operations involving planing and shaping permit the outer of the assembled laminae to be smoothed and the chamferred or curved to impart a rounded appearance, somewhat log-like. It has been found that such laminated timbers have an improved stability over solid wood timber and by reason of the fact that they are normally manufactured from small pieces of relatively high grade lumber, they may be machined to provide cross grooves between their ends or tongues of a T-shaped at their ends which are strong, dimensionally stable and easily assembled by interiitting operations.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a jointing arrangement involving T-shaped tongues and similarly shaped grooves to receive the tongues to form right angular joints between contiguous walls of a building.

Description of the invention For the purposes of illustrating the invention, a preerred embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawing disclosing the design of a jointing arrangement for timbered building structures according to the instant invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and alterations may be made wherein there is an equivalency in shape and structure and function.

In the drawing:

FIGURE l is an isometric perspective view of a corner of a building showing a joint constructed of prefabricated timbers shaped and assembled in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a cross groove provided in a timber for one wall and forming an important part of this improved jointing arrangement; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged perspective view of an end of another joining timber showing the T-shaped tongue which is employed to provide this improved jointing arrangement.

Throughout the drawings like reference characters denote corresponding parts. Referring to FIGURE 2, timber Iii is shown composed of a medial laminae l2 at opposite faces of which is adhesively secured face laminae 14 and I6. The medial laminae is the same width as and arranged in offset relationship with respect to the facing laminae 14 and i6. At the upper edge, as shown in FIGURE 2, there is thus provided a tougue 18 and on the opposite edge a groove 20. The outer corners at the upper and lower edges of the face laminae 14 and 16 are machined or milled into rounded contour at 22. Or they may be chamferred as otherwise may be desired.

By reason of the manufacturing techniques for production of timber such as 10 it is possible that the medial laminae 12 or the facing laminae 14 and 16 may be composed lengthwise of several pieces of wood all bonded together at the interfaces 24 and 26 by waterproof glue lines as shown in FIGURE 3. Individual laminae may be composed of several pieces end-joined as by splines or fingers 25.

Subsequent to their production, timbers 10 are crossrnilled or cross-grooved by being caused to move lateral of their longitudinal dimensions to form the T-shaped groove 3i) shown in FIGURE 2. Such a groove comprises back or bottom wall 31, end walls 32 facing each other, and inwardly and opposedly directed tongues 33, 33 to thus form a restricted throat giving access to the groove defined by walls 31, 32, 32. The outer edge of the throat along the inside face laminae 16 is relieved by rabbets 34, 34 for a purpose later to be described. Rabbets 34, 34 extend between the substantially fiat upper and lower edges of lamina 16,

It will be noted that the T-head of groove 30 is formed in one side of the intermediate lamina 12. Its location with respect to the thickness of the lamina is toward the throat and in the glue line at the facing lamina 16. This insures that there is maximum strength in the timber opposite the groove throat, such comprising a full lamina 14 and a major portion of medial lamina 12.

Referring to FIG. 3, the timber 40 has an intermediate or medial lamina 42 and opposed facing laminae 44 and 46, all assembled and adhesively joined at the interfaces 48 and 50 as has been described. By a cross-milling operation timber 40 is provided with oppoosed grooves 52 and 54 inward of the end of the timber, thus forming a T-shaped tongue or head at the end of timber 40. Stated another way, the tongue has an intermediate neck of reduced cross section and flanges on opposite edges of the timber outward of the reduced neck form an er1- larged T-head which is dimensioned to t into groove 40 of timber 10. The thickness of timber 40 between the bottoms of the grooves 52 and 54 is slightly less than the dimensions of the throat in timber 1i) between the flanges 33, 33. Likewise the T-head is slightly smaller than the groove 30.

A timber 10 and a timber 40 are simply assembled. By aligning the T-shaped tongue of timber 40 with groove 30 of timber 1t) and moving the two relative to each other an appropriate interfit and interlock is quickly produced. Desirably the tongue 41 'of a lower course and the lower groove 26 of timber 10 of an upper course are then disposed in the assembly in the same plane as the like tongues 41 and the lower grooves 2t) of timbers 10 of a transverse wall. In this arrangement the parting lines between the superposed timbers of one wall 60 as in FIGURE l align with the parting lines between the superposed timbers of the lateral wall 62 as can be seen in the right angular corner of that isometric perspective view of FIGURE 1.

It may be assumed that the wall 60 of FIGURE 1 is an end wall of a building structure and wall 62 is Va side wall. An interior abutting wall to subdivide the building may likewise be joined to either the end wall 60 or side wall 62, as for example by suitably located groove 31 identical to groove 30.

When wall 60 and 62 are assembled as shown inner edges 53 of the grooves 52 and 54 abut the faces of and interfit into the rabbets 34, 34 of main groove 30 as shown in FIGURE 2. This arrangement increases the stability of the tongue-and-groove jointing arrangement and conceals the interior details of the joints. Also this arrangement further seals the joint by increasing the surfaces between the members that are in contact. There is thus a very close intert between the right angularly larranged timbers which not only provides stability and is attractive but reduces the likelihood of the movement of air or weather through the joint.

T o convey an impression and t facilitate understanding of the sizes of the timbers and 14 certain dimensions are hereafter recited as typical of a practical jointing assembly capable of easy erection to provide a airtight and stable timbered building structure. The vertical width of the facing laminae 14 and 16 and 44 and 46 is preferably in the order of 51/2 up to 71/2 inches. The assembly thickness of the three laminae of timbers 10 and 40 is desirably 2% up to 313/16 inches. Preferably the medial laminae are thicker than the face laminae, in the order of ifi/1U inch as compared with 2%2 inch.

l Other dimensions are indicated in FIGURES 2 and 3 by letters of the alphabet, as follows:

Inches A ifi/s B 2% C l/s D C E ifs F :.5 G "V16 H '-2 It will be readily apparent that these dimensions may be varied to increase the tightness or the looseness or the joint as may be required to accommodate variances in the moisture content of timbers, or with different variable wood species that may be employed in making the timber assembly, or to accommodate conditions arising as a result of the application of preservatives or pre-finishing and coating materials. It should also be apparent that allowances have been made for clearance between interfitting parts to insure that there is suitable undersize in male-like members as regards the mating or matching female-like members.

It should also be understood that all milled surfaces are right angularly arranged with respect to the longitudinal axis of the timbers and with respect to each other In other words, it has been found unnecessary to include tapered surfaces since an entirely satisfactory interlitting is obtained by straight line movements without jamming of the parts as they are assembled. The intertted T-shaped end of the timbers 40 into groove 30 of timbers 1t) insures the tightness and permanence of the joint assembly between walls 6i) and 62. The intertting tongues 1S and 41 into grooves 20 and 43 respectively maintain the vertical relationship. By reason of one unit being superposed upon another, tight walls are the result.

In FIGURE l, to the right, is shown a second groove 31 which is useful to assemble another wall parallel to wall 62. Such opposed wall may be an interior subdividing wall to form a room or it may be an opposed exterior wall. Similarly a building may be variously subdivided or partitioned as a chosen design may require.

It will be observed that at the exterior corner of a timbered structure according to this invention,'there is no crossed relationship of the timbers forming the two walls. Rather it is an abutting relationship of one wall with respect to the other. This is considered to have substantial aesthetic value in the construction of timbered building structure as herein.

By reason of the timbers as used herein being of laminated construction warpage and shrinkage practically never occur. This has obviated the necessity of providing tapers that result in compaction of the joints since they are fully compacted when first assembled and will remain so.

A complete structure may be assembled by providing a foundation or main slab or other supporting surface. A tongue or cleat secured thereto in outline of the desired oor arrangement is provided. The first course of timbers is assembled on that initially provided tongue. Thereafter by simply laying up timber courses successively, one on top of the other, and effecting the right angle tongueand-groove assemblies at the corners or at the points ot' abutment of one wall with respect to another wall, the walls are quickly and easily erected from the ground or base up by persons of relatively no skill, without the employment of fastening devices, and with speed and simplicity.

What is claimed is:

1. A timbered building structure, comprising:

a first plurality of courses of elongate timbers arranged.

one upon the other, to form an upright first wall;

a second plurality of courses of elongate timbers nrranged, one upon the other, to form an upright second wall in right angular abutting relation to said rst Wall;

each of said timbers being formed of three laminae and having a medially located longitudinal groove on one edge and an opposed medially located longitudinal tongue on its other edge, the tongues and grooves of superposed timbers in each of said Walls being interfitted;

said first and second Walls meeting in said right angular relation so that the first Wall crosses the edge of the second wall and the lines of intert of the timber courses in one Wall are co-planar with lines of interit of the timber courses of the other Wall;

said rst wall having a Vertical, uniform, T-shaped groove extending from bottom to top and open at one side toward said abutting second wall, the enlarged portion of said groove being located Wholly to include the parting line between the medial lamina of each of said timbers and one of the outer lamina; and

said second Wall having a vertical uniform T-shaped tongue extending between its bottom and top and intertted in said groove.

2. The structure according to claim 1 in which at the sides of the entrance to the T-shaped groove, the timber faces are vertically rabbetted and the T-shaped tongues are proportioned and shaped to fit into and ll said rabbets.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner PRCE C. FAW, JR., Assistant Examiner U5. C1. X.R. 52-284, 593

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