In the Figures herein, unique features receive unique reference numerals, while features that are the same in more than one drawing receive the same reference numerals throughout. Further, certain terms of orientation may be used, such as “front,” “back,”“interior,” “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “vertical,” and “horizontal.” These terms are generally for convenience of reference, and should be so understood unless a particular embodiment requires otherwise.
The scope of the invention is not intended to be limited by materials listed herein, but may be carried out using any materials that allow construction and operation. Materials and dimensions depend on the particular application. In general the materials of the components may be metal, and in particular may include cold-formed light gauge steel, which may or may not include a surface treatment such as galvanizing. All dimensions discussed herein are by way of example.
The present invention will be described in terms of specific, example embodiments. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the example embodiments disclosed. It should also be understood that not every feature of the devices or methods described are necessary to implement the invention as claimed in any particular one of the appended claims. Various elements, steps, processes, and features of various embodiments of devices and processes are described in order to fully enable the invention. It should also be understood that throughout this disclosure, where a process or method is shown or described, the steps of the method may be performed in any order or simultaneously, unless it is clear from the context that one step depends on another being performed first.
Referring now to the drawings, a prior art rim track and joist assembly 20 is shown in
The joist 24 is also C-shaped and includes a central web 38, an upper leg 40 that extends perpendicularly from the top edge of the web 38, and a lower leg 42 that extends perpendicularly from the bottom edge of the web 38 in the same direction as the upper leg 40. The joist 24 is mounted to the rim track 22 with the clip 26, which is an elongated mounting member that is an L-shaped angle (bent at 90 degrees) with two arms 44, 46 and an interior angle between the two arms 44, 46. One arm 44 of the clip 26 is fastened to the front side of the web 28 of the rim track 22 and the other arm 46 of the clip 26 is fastened to the back side of the joist web 38. When reference is made herein to the front side of the rim track, joist, or their respective webs, it should be understood that the front side is the side towards which the legs extend. Conversely, when reference is made herein to the back side of the rim track, joist, or their respective webs, it should be understood that the back side is the side away from which the legs extend. As alternatives to the configuration shown in
Another prior art rim track and joist assembly 50 is shown in
The joist 54 is also C-shaped and includes a central web 74, an upper leg 76 that extends perpendicularly from the top edge of the web 74, and a lower leg 78 that extends perpendicularly from the bottom edge of the web 74 in the same direction as the upper leg 76. The joist 54 is mounted to the rim track 52 with the integral joist attachment tab 64. The integral joist attachment tab 64 is shown to be attached to the back side of the joist 54. Other similarly formed tabs, not used for joist attachment, could be provided.
The joist 84 is also C-shaped and includes a central web 100, an upper leg 102 that extends perpendicularly from the top edge of the web 100, and a lower leg 104 that extends perpendicularly from the bottom edge of the web 100 in the same direction as the upper leg 102. The joist shown has a vertical lip 106, 108 running along each leg 102, 104, and generally has a closed web 100, except where there may be penetrations. Instead of the closed-web joist 84 as shown, a joist that is an open web truss could be provided, so long as it has a solid end piece to allow attachment to the clip 86. The joist 84 is mounted to the rim track 82 with the clip 86, which has two arms 110, 112. One arm 110 of the clip 86 is fastened to the back side of the web 88 of the rim track 82, and the other arm 112 of the clip 86 extends through the slot 94 and is fastened to the front side of the joist web 100. Alternatively, the arm 112 attached to the joist 84 could be attached to the front side of the web 100 with the joist legs 102, 104 extending in the opposite direction from that shown, to the back side of the joist web 100 with the joist 84 in the orientation shown, or to the back side of the web 100 with the joist legs 102, 104 extending in the opposite direction from that shown. The interior face of the arm 110 that is attached to the rim track web 88, which is the face of the clip 86 proximate to the interior angle formed by the two arms 110, 112, abuts the back side of the rim track web 88.
As a further alternative configuration, joists 84 could be attached to the backside of the rim track web 88. Such a configuration would equate to the assembly of
Fastening of clips 86 to the rim track 82 and joists 84 may be done with fasteners 114 such as screws, which may be self-tapping, bolts, pneumatic pins, or other means known to one of ordinary skill in the art. The clips may be pre-punched or pre-drilled if necessary or desired based on the anchor type. Pneumatic pins may expedite installation and assembly time, and specific pins may be selected by one of ordinary skill in the art. Pneumatic pins generally have a pointed end, a head, and a knurled shaft with spiral grooves. The force delivered by a pneumatic tool causes the pin to penetrate the steel, and the steel is forced outward to create a hole. The steel contracts around the pin, which is held in place by the grooves. Although three fasteners 114 are shown in
The vertical slots 94 in the rim track 82 may be, in one embodiment, longitudinally spaced along the rim track 82 at 8-inch intervals. This allows joist attachments at 8, 16, and 24-inch intervals (or other multiples of 8 inches) in accordance with conventional practice. No marking of the spacing and location for the clips 86 is required, as the slots 94 automatically locate the joists 84. The following dimensions and gauges are all exemplary and may vary with the design and as selected by one of ordinary skill in the art. Dimensions of the slots 94 may be, for example, about 8 inches in height and ¼ inch in width, centered on a 16 gauge (0.0635 inches) thick rim track 82 with a 12¼ inch depth. The legs 60, 62 of the rim track 82 may extend 1¼ inches from the web 88. The joist 84 may be 16 gauge, have a 12 inch depth, have legs 102, 104 that extend 1⅝ inch from the joist web 100, and have ½ inch lips 106, 108. The clips 86 may also be 16 gauge, may have a length of about 8 inches, and may have arms 110, 112 that are 2½ inches.
The slots 94 may be punched in the rim track web 88. While there may be some deformed material around the edge of the slot 94, in general and depending on the equipment used it may be expected that this deformed material will protrude no more than about ½ inch from the web 88, and there may be no detectable deformation at all or the deformation may not be readily ascertainable to the eye. Accordingly, the edges of the slots 94 may be substantially flush with the planar profile of the rim track web 88. To allow the clips 86 to be flush with the back of the rim track web 88, the slots 94 may be punched from the back side to the front side to cause the deformation to be on the front side of the rim track web 88. The centered position of the slots 94 on the rim track web 88 allows for ease of centering the clips 86; in the conventional installation of
Instead of being a C-shaped joist 84, the joist could be Z-shaped or a tube (a hollow rectangular section). In addition, rather than being L-shaped, the clips could be T-shaped. As shown in
Specific embodiments of an invention are described herein. One of ordinary skill in the art of structural building design will recognize that the invention has other applications in other environments. In fact, many embodiments and implementations are possible. For example, the present invention could be applied to different structural members, other than for support of loads other than building floors, and for materials other than steel. In addition, the recitation “means for” is intended to evoke a means-plus-function reading of an element in a claim, whereas, any elements that do not specifically use the recitation “means for,” are not intended to be read as means-plus-function elements, even if they otherwise include the word “means.” The following claims are in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention to the specific embodiments described.