US932118A

US932118A - Truss-rod construction and adjusting device.

Info

Publication number: US932118A
Application number: US46540208A
Authority: US
Inventors: Henry J Gerhardt; Fred C Stecker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1908-11-30
Filing date: 1908-11-30
Publication date: 1909-08-24
Anticipated expiration: 1926-08-24

Description

H. J. GERHARDT & F. G. STEGKER.

TRUSS BOD CONSTRUCTION AND ADJUSTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30, 1908.

. Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

imp. Rd E Y m kE N m E 0 V 5 T WE 11H V/ b j n "J J H v B \WN -EPF WITNESSES:

$ 4 JIM MA HENRY I. (I-EB'HABDI AND RED 0..

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To all. whom itmay concern:

Be itknown that we, HENRY J. GER-i HARDT and FRED C. STEOKER, citizens of the United States, residing at N eenah, in the county. of Winnebago and State of Wiscon-f I sin, have invented a new and useful Truss Rod Construction and Adjusting Device, of

which the followingis a specification.

. Our invention relates to an adjustable strut, and to the formation of a truss rod, and is particularly applicable to the front rail of awnings for the fronts of-stores and other buildings, but may be applied for straightening or stren thening rails or beams for other purposes. hese awnings are often sup orted by only two. arms which are hingedi to t e fronts of buildings and are often from to ft. apart,and requiring said front rail to extend the full distance between the arms Without an intermediate support, the) result of which is, that said front rail is sure and applying the" truss rods, whereby any sag which mayexist in the rail, whether it be to sag'downward, and inward toward the building, along the middle of its length, and causing the'awning, both when swung down for use and up against the building, to present an unsightly ap earance and detracting from the strength of the rail and usefulness of the awning. For avoiding these difficultiesand straightening and strengthening said f front rail, we apply a truss rod, one or more, as the case requires, which extends from end to end of the rail, each truss'rod being provided with two or more struts intermediate its ends, which space the truss rods from the rail,'and with a turnbuckle for each rod by which it may be tightened, our invention,be ing confined principally to making the struts adjustable in their length, in the position of the strut transversely trussed, and also, in t e manner of forming downward, inward toward the building, or a combination of said directions, may be entirely-taken out and the rail made straight,

the truss rods for accomplishing this result being so'inade that the material for any length of awning-rail, can be easily kept in stock by thep'erson engaged in the awning business.

The accompanying drawing illustrates in its several figures, our improvements.

1 Figure l is a planishowing a wood front railfor an awning, broken in its length, a part of its two end supporting arms,'two struts of our invention spaced apart and secured to specification of; Letters Patent. I l I Application filed November 80, 1908. Serial Ho.466-,402.'

of the rail to bev I the rail; and a truss rod extending substantially from end to end of the rail, and a turnbuckle for tightening. the rodi Fig. 2 is an elevation of the inside of an awning rail or the side that is toward the building when the porting arms being in section, the rail haying two truss rods with a turnbuckle for each f rod, and four of our improved struts for spaci ing .therods apart and from the awning rail. 1 Fig. 3 is a lan of a bracket for holding one or two strut olts. Fig. 4 is a transverse section-of the bracket on the line a, a, of Fig. 3. Figfi5 is a plan of a truss rod holder and spreader, showing its widestftransverse di mension. Fig; 6 is afplan of Fig.5 showing ,,vers ely of it; Figs. 7' and 8 are plans upon a larger scale than the others, of a trussreii holder and spreader, showing their edges and the manner in which the truss rods may be retained by them, 'Fig.'g7'being formed of malleable iron and its ends bent'toward each other, and Fig. 8 being provided withoetter pins. Fig. 9 is an elevation of the ihsi'deofi another form of bracket from Fig. 3, whichis adapted for use upon rails formed of iron pipe. Fig. 10 is a transverse section of said racket on the line b, b, of Fig. 9. 11 is a vertical section u on the line c, c, of Fi 1, as it appears in ooking toward the oft. Fig.v 12 1s a transverse section, similar to Fig. 11, but having the bracket as shown in Figs. 9 and IOapplied to-an iron pi e. Fig. 13 is an elevation, similar to the rig t hand end of Fig. 2, but having individual truss rod and 6. 14 is a transverse section, simi lar to Fig. 11, but having the individual truss rod holders and s readers, as in Fig. 15 is a plan 0 a modified form of truss rod holder and spreader; view of the'same.

Similar numerals and letters indicate like parts in. the. several views.-

l

1, 1, indicate wood and iron ipe awning railsrespectively; 2, 2 their end suppo1ting arms by .which the rails are hinged to a build-;

upon the ends of the arms for retaining the there is, 'but one rod used, maybeconnected with the rail by forming an eye in" one and sli ping it u on the arm between the rail and collar 3, or i there are two truss rods for iits edge' or. narrowest dimension,- tra'ns .ing; 3; nut collar upon the arms; 4, nuts rail thereon. The truss rod piece'sg5,-" when I the rail, bydoubling the'wire of which the,

Patented Aug. 24, 1909.."

awning is down, broken in its length, its sup- F spreaders instead of the one shown in Figs. 5

Fig. is'an edge if rod is formed and twisting it near said dou bled part, as is shown in Fig. 2, the collar beingomitted at the left hand end of the rail in Fig. 2 for showing said twist. The strut 5 for spreading the truss rod from the rail con: sists of a truss rod strut holder or bracket, 6, or 6, the former being provided with w1ngs7 having holes for receiv wood screws 8 by --which to secure the brac et to a rail formed 10 of wood, and the latter having two arms 9 which extend parallel with each other, throu h one of which a set screw 9', is inserte and b means of which the bracket may be attac ed to a rail formed of pipin Each style of bracket is formed wlth a ho t head seat 10, having side walls for preventing the bolt head from turning around therein,

/ and a slot 11, arranged longitudinall of the grzfcket, for the passage through it 0 a strut The threaded strut bolt 12, which may be of any desired length, can be secured to the bracket in an desired position within the length of the s ot 11, by means of the nut 13.

2 Spaced from the nut 13, a suitable distance,

are two nuts 14, between which two nuts a truss rod holder and spreader is clamped.

This may be individual blocks 15, mounted upon the bolt 12 and having a perforation 16,

for receiving a truss rod, as in Figs. 13 and 14, or be the spreader 17 or 18, as shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 15 and 16. In the former case the block is carried upon a single bolt,

but in the latter case the spreaders 17 or 18,

may be carried upon one bolt as in the outer brackets in Fig. 2, or upon two bolts, as in its inner pair of brackets in said figure. These holders and spreaders 17 or'18, which will usually be preferable to the single blocks,

40 consist of a thin bar having a slot longitudinally of it, each end of Fig. 8 being rovided with two arms 20, spaced 9. art, and a cotter pin 21,'inserted through t em for retaining the rod 5 therein. The piece 17 in Fig. 7, is formed of malleable iron and the ends of the arms 20 are bent toward each other, and

3 6 shows the piece 18, with its ends provi ed with perforations 22, for the passage through them of the truss rod.

For attaching the bracket 6, to an awning rail formed of a pipe as in Fig. 12, two blocks '23 and 24 are inserted between the bracket arms andthe Ipipe 1", the latter block being thicker than t e former, so that b changing their positions one for the other, t e bracket can be raised or lowered relative to the rail.

It will be observed that the bracket in this case is not attached to the pipe in a vertical position, but is inclined toward the building em which the awnin is supported, wherebi, the application 0 a sin le truss rod,

w en properly tightened up,'w1 1 not only exert its force to straighten any sag inward, .but one downward also. In some cases it may be necessary to apply two truss rods, as 18 hown in Fig. 2, and the number of brackets may be two or more, and the number of strut bolts to each bracket may be one or two, as the number of crooks and their direction seem to require.

In Fig. 2 is shown our im rovement in the formation of truss rods. T e turnbuckles 25 and screw eyes 26 may be made in quantities to a standard gage, all properly threaded, one of the screw eyes and one end of the turnbuckle having a ri ht hand thread and the other screw eye an' the other end of the turnbuckle having aleft hand thread. Where two truss'rods are to be applied to an awning for removing any sagging 1n its rail, a single piece of wire of a suitable gage and length, is all that is required. A person starting out to straighten up a number of awning rails, all va ng in length, has but to provide himself a number of brackets with their threaded strut ,bolts and truss rod holders and spreaders, turnbuckles and screw eyes, in proportion to the number of rails to be straightened, a coil of wire, cutting and twisting nip ers and a wrench, and he is fully prepared with the sup lies and tools for I many separate. jobs, al differing in the length of their rails and the amount ofdefiection in the rails from a straight line. I In applying the truss rods, the brackets with their strut bolts and truss rod holders and spreaders are to be first secured in position at the distance apart suited to the particular case. A piece of wire is then to be cut from the coil of the required length, and if there are two truss rods to be used, the wire is to be doubled like the wire 5', in Fig. 2, and the loop 27 formed by twistin the wire of the loop around a few times, the oop then being laced on an arm between the collar 3 and t e rail, the nut 4 being removed for allowin said connection to be made. The free on s of the wire are now run throu h .the spreaders, whether the spreader is t e single block. 15 or the pieces 17 or 18. no

The wires are, then to be connected with their screw eyes by passing them through and twisting the ends aroun in a well known manner. Both ends of the truss rod having been formed andconnected as above described, the turnbuckles can be applied and turned until the desired tension is produced in the rods.

The tension upon the truss rods can be increased or diminished by means of the tumbuckles, or b turning the nuts 14 on the strut bolts. he action of the truss rods upon the rail circumferentially of it, can be controlled u on a rail formed of pipe by the position of t e'bracket around the pipe, and upon a four sided rail, by the position transversel of the rail of the strut bolt and its sprea er. In Fig. 1, the truss. rod is formed in the usual manner, of a single iece of wire from the turnbuckle to the en of the rail 139 which method produces as good results as the method shown in Fig. 2, but it is not as easy to apply or make, the thread upon the short screw eyes being much easier to make than upona piece 10or 15feet long, and the twisted loop connection of wire and screw eye is easily made.

In wetting the awning cloth, the rail is caused to bend inward and downward in consequence of the additional weight, and in dr ing, it is likely to occur that the shrinkage tal ies place when the awning is down for use, when its shrinkage Will pull the rail upward, but there is no likelihood of its bowing the rail outward. In this case an additional tension can be given the lower one of the truss rods by lengthening the space on the strut bolts between the brackets and spreader pieces, or if but one rod is being used, by movmg the position of the truss rod spreader downward, relative to the rail the necessary {amount for bringing the rail into a straight ine.

Having described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s,

1. In a truss rod construction and adjusting device, a strut for spreading the truss rod from the member to be trussed, consisting of a bracket adapted to be secured upon said member, means for securing the bracket to said member, a slot through the bracket, longitudinally thereof, adapted for the passage through it of a bolt and for its retention within said slot, means for preventing the turning around of the bolt within the slot, a nut upon the bolt for clamping the bolt and bracket together in any position within the length of said slot, two nuts spaced apart upon said bolt and from the first named nut, a truss rod holder and spreader, mounted upon said bolt and clamped between said two nuts, a passage through said holder and spreader for a truss rod, said holder and s reader being adjustable nearer to and fartlier from the member to be trussed within substantially .the length of said bolt by means of said two nuts, and also, adjustable transversely of said member within the length of said slot in the bracket by means of the first named nut.

2. In a bracket for attachment to a member to be trussed, provided with two arms extending parallel with each other for'inclosing opposite sides of said member, a

greater space betweenv said arms than the dimension of the member to be trussed, said space being adapted to receive rectangular shaped filling pieces of different thickness on opposite sides of the member to be trussed, whereby the changing of their positions one for the other, will change the position of the bracket, transversely of said member to be trussed the di'llerence in the thickness be tween said two pieces and necessitate the use of but a single set screw for holding said filling pieces, and the member to be trussed, in position.

3. A bracket for attachment to a member to be trussed, means for securing it to said member, a slot arranged lengthwise of said bracket adapted for the passage through it of a threaded strut bolt, a shouldered seat on opposite sides of said slot for receiving the head of said bolt for holding the bolt from turning around therein, a nut upon said bolt for clamping the bolt within the bracket, two nuts upon said bolt, spaced apart and from the first named nut, and a truss rod holder and s reader mQunted upon the bolt between said two'nuts and clamped between them.

4. In a truss rod device for straightening the sag in, and sustaining the front rail of an awning, or other similar article, a plurality of struts for spacing the truss rod from the member to be trussed, spaced apart intermediate the ends of said member, consisting each of a bracket having means for securing it upon the member to be trusse it slot .arranged lengthwise of the bracket and trans -versely of said member to be trussed, one or more threaded bolts extending outward from each bracket through said slots, each bolt having a head between the member to be trussed and the bracket, a nut upon each bolt for clam ing it to a bracket in any position within the length of said slot, two nuts spaced apart and from the first named nut upon each bolt, truss rod holder and spreader devices mounted upon each bracket and held in position upon a bolt by means of said two nuts, each of said holder and spreader devices having means for the engagement loosely with it of a truss rod, a truss rod device for the member to be trussed, consisting of one or more turnbuckles having each a right hand thread at one end and a left hand thread at the other, wires connected with each end of the member to be trussed, and means for connecting the wire and a turnbuckle.

5. In a truss rod for straightening the sag in, and sustaining the front rail of an awning, or othersimilar article, a plurality of struts for spreading the truss rod from the member to rbe'trussed, spaced apart intermediate the ends of said member, consisting each of a bracket having means for securing it upon the member to be trussed, a slot arranged lengthwise of each bracket and transversely of said member to be trussed, one or more threaded bolts extending outward from each bracket through said slots having each a head between the member to be trussed and the bracket, a nut upon each bolt for clamping it to a bracket, in any position within the length of its slot, two nuts spaced apart and from the first named nut, truss rod holder and I spreader devices having means for the engagement with it, loosely, of a truss rod, a truss rod device for .the member to be trussed. consisting of turnbuckles having each a right. hand threaded screw eye engaging one end and a left hand threaded screw eye engaging the other end of each turnbuckle, and two wires doubled,one for each end of the member to be trussed having a 100 ormcd at the point of said doubling in each wire and engaging with the member to be trussed near its ends, the free ends of each doubled wire engaging loosely witlrone or more holder and spreader devices, and being then connected with a screw eye of the turnbuckle by passing it through the screw eye and twisting it around itself.

6. In a truss rod construction and adjusting device, two truss rods, two screw eyes for each turnbuckle for connecting and tightening each truss rod, and a suitable strut carrying means forspacing the truss rods from the member to be trussed and the rods from each other, said truss rods consisting of a iece of wire for each end of the member 'to e trussed, doubled, and a loop formed at said doubling point for its connection with said member, each of their free ends intermediate their oints of connection with said member to e trussed and their turnbuckles and screw eyes passing through said trussrod s acing means, being then connected wit a screw eye.

7. In a truss rod construction and adjusting device, two truss rods, a turnbuckle for connecting and tightening each truss rod, and a suitable strut carrying means for spacing the truss rods from the member to be trussed andthe rods from each other, said truss rods consisting of a piece of wire for each end of the member to be trussed, doubled, and a loop formed at said doubling point for its connection with said member, each of their free ends intermediate their oints of connection with said member to e trussed and their turnbuckles pass' through said truss rod s acing means, an means for connecting eac of said free ends of the wire with a turnbuckle.

HENRY J. GERHARDT. FRED C. STECKER.

l/Vitnesses:

S. D. BAIRD, O'r'ro EISENACH.