Patent Application
20100102187
In building construction it is well known construct so called false or hollow walls in buildings. Such hollow walls comprise a frame with studs, wooden beams or other support members and covering elements, e.g. plaster plates covering the outside of the frame and constituting the wall surface. Commonly, pipes and other conduits extend through the hollow walls Water pipes or other conduits typically extend between the studs or beams of a wall and are fixed to cross carrier beams which are attached with their opposite ends to the studs or beams of the wall.
From Hubbard Enterprises a cross carrier beam is known under the trade name Holdrite® Stout Bracket™. This cross carrier beam is telescopically adjustable in length to be attached with its opposite ends to the studs of a wall. The pipes or conduits are attached to the cross carrier beam by means of pipe clamps which are attached to the cross carrier beam. The pipe clamps have a vibration isolating member that prevents the noise coming from the pipes to be transferred to the cross carrier and further to the wall frame.
Using pipe clamps that are individually provided with a vibration isolating member to prevent transfer of noise from the pipes into the wall structure is a relatively expensive solution and is in particular inefficient if a plurality of pipes are supported by a cross carrier beam.
Furthermore, vibration isolating pipe clamps need to be provided with vibration isolating members specifically adapted for a specific pipe diameter or a specific cross carrier shape and dimension.
The present invention has for an object to provide a pipe supporting structure which provides a more efficient use of vibration isolating material and elements.
According to one aspect of the invention this object is achieved by a cross carrier beam to be mounted between support members. The cross carrier beam comprises a beam member having at each end an end bracket. The end brackets have an attachment member for attaching the cross carrier beam to the support members. The cross carrier beam furthermore comprises a vibration isolation member to be mounted between each of the attachment members and the support member.
According to another aspect of the invention the object is achieved by a cross carrier beam to be mounted between support members, which cross carrier beam comprises a beam member having at each end an end bracket. The end brackets have an attachment member for attaching the cross carrier beam to the support members. The cross carrier beam furthermore comprises a vibration isolation member which is provided between the beam member and the end bracket.
The cross carrier beams according to the described aspects of the invention have the advantage that the vibration isolating members in the construction are associated with the cross carrier beam instead of with the individual components that may be mounted against the cross carrier beam, such as pipe clamps. Thus the pipes supported by the cross carrier beam are isolated from the frame structure by a minimum of vibration isolating elements in the structure.
Further details and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the drawings.
In
The cross carrier beam 1 has two end brackets 3 on opposite ends, which end brackets 3 comprise an attachment plate 31 and an adjustment member 32 which extends substantially perpendicular to the attachment plate 31. The adjustment member 32 and the plate 31 are fixedly attached to each other, preferably by welding. The attachment plate 31 is provided with holes 33 for running through screws, bolts or other suitable fastening means for fastening the end brackets 3 to a stud 5 or another support member. The adjustment member 32 is in the embodiment shown a C-profile, but may also be another rod-like element that fits in the hollow beam member 2. The end brackets 3 are mounted to the beam member 2 by sliding the adjustment member 32 into the open ends of the beam member 2. Thus the end brackets 3 are telescopically mounted on an end portion of the beam member 2 such that the length of the cross carrier beam 1 can be varied and adapted to the distance between the studs 5 or other support members.
A pad 4 made of vibration isolating material, preferably rubber or another elastomeric material, is provided at the side of the attachment plate 31 which faces away from the adjustment member 32. After installation of the cross carrier beam 1 between two studs 5, the isolation pads 4 are each located between a stud 5 and an attachment plate 31. The vibration isolation pads 4 prevent vibrations and noise originating from water supply pipes or the like, which are fixed to the beam member 2 to be passed on to the studs 5 and further into the support structure.
The pads 4 have through holes in them for passing through screws, bolts or other suitable fastening means to fasten the end brackets 3 to the studs 5. Preferably vibration isolating washers are arranged under the screw heads, bolt heads or nuts such that is prevented that noise is transferred from the beam member 2 to the studs via the screw or bolt shank.
The isolation pads 4 may be separate components which are positioned between the attachment plates 31 and the studs 5 upon installation. Alternatively the isolation pads 4 are attached to the attachment plates 31, for instance by means of an adhesive or in the case of a rubber isolation pad 4 by means of vulcanisation.
In
The cross carrier beam 101 has two end brackets 103 on opposite ends, which end brackets 103 comprise an attachment plate 131 and an adjustment member 132 which extends substantially perpendicular to the attachment plate 131. The adjustment member 132 and the plate 131 are fixedly attached to each other, preferably by welding. The attachment plate 131 is provided with holes 133 for running through screws, bolts or other suitable fastening means for fastening the end brackets 103 to a stud 105 or another support member. The adjustment member 132 is in the embodiment shown a C-profile, but may also be another rod-like element that fits in the hollow beam member 102.
On the outer side of the adjustment members 132 is provided a vibration isolating sleeve 104. The end brackets 103 are mounted to the beam member 102 by sliding the adjustment member 132 with the isolation sleeve 104 into the open ends of the beam member 102. Thus the end brackets 103 with the respective vibration isolating sleeves 104 are telescopically mounted on an end portion of the beam member 102 such that the length of the cross carrier beam can be varied and adapted to the distance between the studs 105 or other support members.
The vibration isolating sleeves 104 are preferably made of rubber or another elastomeric material. The vibration isolation sleeves 104 prevent vibrations and noise originating from water supply pipes or the like, which are fixed to the beam member 102 to be passed on to the studs 105 and further into the support structure.
The beam member 2, 102 and the end brackets 3, 103 are preferably made of metal. The studs 5, 105 may be of metal, but also wooden beams may be used. The cross carrier beams 1, 101 according to the described aspects of the invention have the advantage that the vibration isolating members 4, 104 in the construction are associated with the cross carrier beam 1, 101 instead of with the individual components that may be mounted against the cross carrier beam 1, 101, such as pipe clamps. Thus the pipes supported by the cross carrier beam 1, 101 are isolated from the frame structure by a minimum of vibration isolating elements 4, 104 in the structure.
Moreover, the cross carrier beam 101 according to the second aspect of the invention has the advantage that no additional vibration isolating means are needed in the construction. As mentioned in the above, with the isolating pads 4 according to the first aspect of the invention it might be necessary to use vibration isolating washers or other suitable isolation means to prevent vibrations to travel through the screws, bolts or other attachment means that are used to fix the end brackets 3 to the studs 5. With the vibration isolating sleeve 104 according to the second aspect of the invention the mentioned additional vibration isolating means can be omitted.
