Claims
- 1. A connection system, comprising:
- a wood structural member having an interior and including at least one slot extending into the wood structural member and characterized by a cross-sectional configuration defined by opposed first and second inner surfaces;
- a connector for insertion into the wood structural member, the connector including a connection end for connection to another structural member and the connector including for each slot of the wood structural member a tongue having a cross-sectional configuration that is matably complementary to the cross-sectional configuration of the slot to which the tongue corresponds in the wood structural member, each tongue having opposed first and second inner connecting surfaces and being dimensioned to substantially fill the slot to which the tongue corresponds in the wood structural member so that the first inner surface of the slot opposes the first inner connecting surface of the tongue and the second inner surface of the slot opposes the second inner connecting surface of the tongue leaving a small gap therebetween, and at least one tongue of the connector having at least one discontinuity that creates an opening between the first and second inner connecting surfaces and thereby forms a local widening portion in the gap between the first and second inner connecting surfaces of the tongue and the first and second inner surfaces of the slot;
- an adhesive located within the gap and covering the first and second inner connecting surfaces of the tongue and the first and second inner surfaces of the slot, the adhesive filling the opening between the first and second inner connecting surfaces and forming a connection interface to secure the tongue of the connector within the slot and thereby directly transmit internal or external load forces from the wood structural member to the connector, and the discontinuity cooperating with the adhesive to allow expansion and contraction of the wood structural member so that the connection interface between the connector and the wood structural member remains intact through dimensional variations of the wood structural member; and
- a gap closure member mounted to a side margin defined by a boundary of the first and second inner connecting surfaces of each tongue and of sufficient size to close the gap and thereby prevent leakage of the adhesive during its placement in the gap.
- 2. The connection system of claim 1 in which there are multiple tongues that are bisected in a common direction to form multiple discontinuities.
- 3. The connection system of claim 2 in which each of the multiple tongues has first and second side margins, the first side margin of each tongue supporting a first rim and the second side margin of each tongue supporting a second rim, and the first and second rims forming gap closure members positioned outside the interior of the wood structural member.
- 4. The connection system of claim 2 in which the tongues are flat.
- 5. The connection system of claim 1 wherein the adhesive comprises phenol-formaldehyde, melamine-formaldehyde, polyester, epoxy, or polyurethane.
- 6. The connection system of claim 1 in which the side margin of each tongue having at least one discontinuity supports a rim positioned outside the interior of the wood structural member to close the gap.
- 7. The connection system of claim 6 in which the rim forms a connector base of a T-shaped base section.
- 8. The connection system of claim 6 in which the rim forms a base of the connection end of the connector, the connector being adapted for connection to another structural member made of concrete.
- 9. The connection system of claim 6 in which each tongue having at least one discontinuity includes multiple discontinuities formed by a grid structure.
- 10. The connection system of claim 9 in which the grid structure is in the shape of a curve.
- 11. The connection system of claim 1 in which each tongue having at least one discontinuity includes multiple discontinuities formed by a grid structure.
- 12. The connection system of claim 11 in which the grid structure is in the shape of a curve.
- 13. The connection system of claim 1 in which the connector is adapted for connection to another structural member made of concrete.
Priority Claims (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
9319497 U |
Dec 1993 |
DEX |
|
4406433 |
Feb 1994 |
DEX |
|
RELATED APPLICATION
This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/357,997, filed Dec. 16, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,492.
US Referenced Citations (13)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1485811 |
Jan 1970 |
DEX |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
357997 |
Dec 1994 |
|