CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of an Australian patent Application No. 2011900816, filed Mar. 8, 2011; an Australian patent Application No. 2011900982, filed Mar. 18, 2011; and New Zealand patent Application No. 592593, filed Jun. 10, 2011, now Zealand patent No. 592593. The entire disclosure of these prior patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to building means. A preferred form of the invention relates to means for connecting boards to a supporting beam.
BACKGROUND
It is known to construct decks for residential or commercial buildings. These are generally made by fastening boards to floor joists with a large number of nails or screws, with or without adhesives. This can be a reasonably time consuming and labour intensive exercise. It is an object of a preferred form of the present invention to go at least some way towards addressing this, or to at least provide the public with a useful choice.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a fastener having an elongate base and a series of extensions proceeding outwards from the base at spaced intervals, each extension having a series of outwardly oriented claws formed by forcing the claws outwards from a main part of the extension to leave a corresponding space in the main part and then pressing or otherwise forcing the claws into a widened state so that they are too wide to return into spaces from which they came, the fastener formed so that when it is in use a wooden board can be arranged between two extensions such that edges of the board contact the two extensions so that a force applied to an outer face of the board will cause at least a substantial number of the claws to penetrate the edges to retain the board against the fastener.
Optionally the base is generally in the form of a strip suitable for fastening to a supporting beam of a building or other construction.
Optionally the base comprises an elongate support beam which is generally tunnel shaped in transverse cross section, wherein the opposite sides of such shape may or may not be angled outwards. The tunnel shape may have outwardly extending lower flanges suitable for receiving fixing members to secure the fastener to a supporting beam of a building or other construction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Some preferred forms of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying images, of which:
FIG. 1 is side elevation of a fastener according to a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the fastener;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the fastener;
FIG. 4 illustrates the fastener when in use with other similar fasteners to create a deck;
FIG. 5 is a side elevation cross-section of part of the fastener demonstrating the manner in which it engages deck boards;
FIG. 6 is an isometric view of an alternative fastener engaged with a joist;
FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the alternative fastener, engaging a joist or sleeper in a different manner;
FIG. 8 is an isometric view illustrating a way in which fasteners can be joined to one another;
FIG. 9 illustrates detail of a still further embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 10 shows a fence when constructed with fasteners according to the invention;
FIG. 11 illustrates a fastener according to a further embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 12 illustrates the manner in which the FIG. 11 embodiment may be formed; and
FIG. 13 illustrates the use of fasteners according to invention in the laying of interior floorboards.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, in a first embodiment of the invention a metallic building fastener 1 comprises an elongate strip-like base 2 supporting a series of upwardly disposed plates 3. As shown, the plates 3 are spaced along the base 2 at regular intervals. Each plate 3 has a series of sharp claws 4 extending outwardly and downwardly from both sides so that the plate is in some regards similar to a two sided gang nail arrangement. The base 2 has a series of apertures 5 for receiving screws, nails, or similar fixing members. It also has a pair of side knuckle nails 2a at each end to facilitate fixing. Preferably the plates 3 are the result of punching shaped portions from the base 2 and turning these upwards so that there is a corresponding space 6 left in the base immediately adjacent each plate. During manufacture, the claws 4 are preferably punched from the plates 3 in similar fashion. The punching step which creates the claws inherently leaves claw shaped spaces in the plates 3. To prevent the claws returning to those spaces, if for example they are subjected to a downwards force, the claws are machines pressed to make them wider than the claw shaped spaces. In a preferred embodiment of the invention a punch press is used to create the claws. The punch press imparts a centre crease to the claws and applies pressure to flatten/widen the claws as it passes through the claw shaped spaces at the end of the punch stroke.
Referring to FIG. 4, when in use the fastener 1 is screwed or nailed down onto the top of a outdoor deck joist 7 and the knuckle nails 2a are driven into the joist so that the plates 3 are vertically disposed. Other fasteners 1a are arranged in similar fashion on nearby floor joists 7a so that the plates of neighbouring fasteners are lined up. Wooden boards 8 are progressively arranged to run across the joists between pairs of plates on each fastener. By walking on the boards as shown at 9 the boards are forced into a tight fit between pairs of plates. The boards can also be struck with a rubber mallet to ensure a good fit if necessary. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the claws 4 of the plates penetrate the edges 10 of each board to hold them fast with respect to the joists. If desired, a small amount of glue can be applied to the top surface of the base 2 between the plates 3 to enhance the connection between the fastener and the boards.
Preferably the fastener has beaded edges so that the heads of the screws or nails used to secure it to the joist are generally flush with the under surface of the boards and also to contain the glue, if used.
Referring to FIG. 6, in an alternative embodiment of the invention there is provided a fastener 11 similar to that described above, except that the base is generally tunnel shaped in transverse cross-section and is arranged to wrap around the top and sides of the joist. The sides 12 of the tunnel are angled slightly outwards to make it easier to engage the joist and also to stack a number of the fasteners prior to use. The sides of the tunnel each have a lower horizontal flange 13 which can be folded under the joist to facilitate a secure connection. In this regard screws or nails can be driven through apertures 14 of the flanges into the joist. As shown, an “L” shaped member 15 having a plate with claws similar to those described above is slid under the top of the tunnel shape to provide means for connecting to a wall or the like after the last board.
Referring to FIG. 7, if it is desired to use the fastener 11 with a joist or sleeper 16 which is too wide to have the fastener wrap around it (ie as in FIG. 6), then the fastener can be secured to the top face of the sleeper so that only the flanges 13 contact the sleeper. The fastener's claw containing plates are thus elevated compared to the FIG. 6 arrangement. In the FIG. 7 arrangement the fastener may provide a beam (eg a joist) in its own right and in such cases it is made thick and sturdy enough to protect the structural integrity of the deck it is used to make. In alternative embodiments the beam/joist version of the fastener may be secured directly onto piles or a concrete base, etc, and so act as a joist, bearer or supportive beam generally.
Referring to FIG. 8, as will be appreciated, in some cases fasteners according to the invention will not be long enough to run the full distance of a joist or sleeper. In that event fasteners may be butted end to end and secured to one another using a simple overlapping end tab 17. The tab 17 has apertures 18 for aligning with the apertures 14 at the end of two neighbouring fasteners so that a screw, nail, or the like can pass through these to hold end butted fasteners firmly next to one another.
Referring to FIG. 9, in some embodiments of the invention the spike-like claws 4 of the plates 3 may be replaced by claws 4a in the form of sharp horizontally running ridges. These are able to penetrate the edges of boards in similar fashion to the spike-like claws.
As shown in FIG. 10, the invention can be used to create structures other than decks, for example walls or fences 19 having rows of horizontally disposed boards 20 arranged one above the other. In that case the fasteners run upright along posts or beams, with each claw plate extending horizontally rather than vertically.
An advantage of preferred forms of the invention over some known modes of construction is that there is substantially less need to employ nails or screws in the process of fastening the boards to the underlying support joists, etc. In the case of a deck the plates 3 are slightly below the level of the deck surface so as to facilitate an aesthetically pleasing finish. When looking at the deck surface one is not presented with the sort of repeating rows of nails normal when boards are nailed to joists from above.
The fasteners of the invention may be manufactured to dimensions to suit the building project at hand. Further they may be cut into shorter lengths if need be, for example using tin snips or a suitable saw, depending on the thickness and type of material used to manufacture them. In preferred embodiments of the invention the fastener 1 of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 may be manufactured in 900 mm lengths with plates 3 sufficient to receive ten boards. Preferred embodiments of the fastener 11 of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 may also be made in 900 mm lengths to accommodate ten boards, and formed 50 mm, 75 mm or 100 mm high using 18 gauge (1.2 mm) or 20 gauge (1 mm) steel, for example stainless steel. The top of the fastener 11 may be 50 mm wide and the side walls 12 may be 70-80 mm apart at the bottom. A wide taper for the side walls enables a workman to readily overlap the ends of two fasteners 11 rather than having to cut one of them down, if for example the workman has a joist too long for one fastener 11 but too short to accommodate the full length of two such fasteners.
In further embodiments of the invention, the single leaf plates 3 may each be replaced by a double leaf plate 3a as shown in FIG. 11. Whether formed from a folded piece, or provided as separate pieces at the same location, the double leaf plate should, for the purposes of this document, be regarded as embraced by the term “a plate” or “an extension”.
In some embodiments of the invention the fasteners may be made of plastic.
While the fasteners of the invention have been described in relation to the fixing of wooden boards, then can be used to fasten other types of board if desired, for example plastic boards, so long as the claws 4 are able to penetrate the edges of the boards.
Referring to FIG. 11, in some versions of the invention the claws may be formed as a single row of downwardly angled harpoon teeth 4b and this arrangement can be applied to any of the embodiments described previously. Referring to FIG. 12, in some versions the teeth 4a may be cut from metallic material used for the plate and folded down, one tooth one side and the next tooth the other side, to give the FIG. 11 arrangement.
In some embodiments of the invention the fasteners may be used in the context of interior flooring, whether residential or otherwise. In this embodiment tongued and grooved floor boards may be dispensed with in favour of just grooved floor boards, and the fasteners used to lay a floor without the use of the normal rows of nails proceeding through the boards. In such embodiments the claws may penetrate into the grooves of the boards. The grooves thus provide space for the fasteners while at the same time enabling the top surfaces of the boards to be tightly butted. FIG. 13 illustrates the butting and fastening of floorboards with tongues on the one hand, and without tongues on the other.
While some embodiments of the invention have been described by way of example it should be appreciated that modifications and improvements can occur without departing from the scope of the following claims.
Patent Application
20120227348
