Claims
- 1. A staggered finger joint formed within a surface of a first wood segment for adjoinment with a second wood segment, the joint comprising:
a plurality of adjacent members projecting outwardly from the wood segment and having a plurality of outer and inner tips staggered with respect to one another by a predetermined distance, and corresponding voids having staggered roots disposed between the members that are configured to receive staggered members of the second wood segment.
- 2. The staggered finger joint as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of voids includes a first plurality of voids that are longer than a second plurality of voids.
- 3. The staggered finger joint as recited in claim 1, wherein the members are staggered by an amount substantially between 0.02 inches and 0.18 inches.
- 4. The staggered finger joint of claim 1, wherein the surface comprises an end of the wood segment.
- 5. The staggered finger joint of claim 1, wherein the surface comprises an edge of the wood segment.
- 6. The staggered finger joint as recited in claim 1, wherein a stress concentration is disposed proximal each of the tips, and wherein the stress concentrations do not form a bridge with respect to adjacent stress concentrations at strain levels of 105% of far-field strain.
- 7. The staggered finger joint as recited in claim 1, wherein the members have a tip width substantially between 0.002 inches and 0.04 inches.
- 8. The staggered finger joint as recited in claim 1, further comprising an adhesive applied to the members prior to bonding with the second wood segment.
- 9. A finger joint formed within a surface of a first wood segment for adjoinment with a second wood segment, the finger joint comprising:
a plurality of adjacent fingers projecting outwardly, each finger having a tip that is staggered with respect to an adjacent tip, wherein the staggered fingers define voids therebetween configured to mesh with staggered fingers of the second wood segment.
- 10. The finger joint as recited in claim 9, wherein each finger is defined by walls having a slope substantially between 1:10 and 1:12.
- 11. The finger joint as recited in claim 9, wherein each finger has a tip of between 0.002 inches and 0.04 inches.
- 12. The finger joint as recited in claim 9, wherein each tip is staggered with respect to the adjacent tip by an amount substantially between 0.02 inches and 0.18 inches.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 60/222,210 filed Aug. 1, 2000 and entitled “Improved Finger-Joint in Finger-Jointed Lumber” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in its entirety herein.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60222210 |
Aug 2000 |
US |