Patent Application
20080196332
The present invention relates to a sheet metal header beam and, in particular, to a sheet metal header beam that is constructed from a one-piece sheet metal member and which is characterized by an upwardly opening upper channel formed between box beam sections and by a downwardly opening lower channel.
A “header” is a beam that is used on top of a door or window opening. It is constructed to carry relatively large loads without bending. In wood framing construction, the header is generally a wood beam that is deeper than it is wide and substantially as wide as the wood studs that are used to form the framing wall that includes the dooxr or window opening.
In sheet metal wall construction, it is known to form a header from a pair of sheet metal beams that are bolted together. An example of this construction is disclosed by FIG. 6 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,362, granted Oct. 17, 2000, to Robert V. Buecker.
There is a need for a sheet metal header that can be constructed fast and easy from a single sheet-metal member. The principal object of the present invention is to fill this need.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a sheet metal header that is in the nature of a box beam having a downwardly opening lower channel portion sized to receive upper end portions of a pair of studs that define the sides of the window or door opening.
In preferred form, the sheet metal header beam of the present invention includes a pair of laterally spaced apart top walls, each having an inner edge boundary and an outer edge boundary. A pair of laterally spaced apart upper channel sidewalls extend downwardly from the inner edge boundaries of the top walls to laterally spaced apart lower edge boundaries. An upper channel bottom wall extends between and interconnects the lower edge boundaries of the upper channel sidewalls. A pair of laterally spaced apart outside walls extend downwardly from the outer edge boundaries of the top walls, each to a fold. A pair of lower channel sidewalls extend upwardly from the folds to upper corners. A pair of flanges extend laterally inwardly from the upper corners to form a top for the lower channel. This top is positioned below the bottom of the upper channel. The flanges have inner edges which substantially meet each other below the bottom wall of the upper channel.
This sheet metal header beam is constructed from a single sheet metal member that is bent at the corners between the flanges and the inside sidewalls of the lower channel, at the folds, at the upper corners where the outside walls meet the outer boundaries of the top walls, at the corners where the inner boundaries of the top walls meet the upper boundaries of the inside walls, and at the corners where the lower boundaries of the upper channel sidewalls meet the bottom of the upper channel.
Additional objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the description set forth below, from the drawings, and from the principles that are embodied in the specific structures that are illustrated and described.
Preferably, the top walls are in substantially co-planar parallelism. The upper channel sidewalls may diverge apart as they extend upwardly from the upper channel bottom wall.
Preferably also, the outside walls of the header beam are substantially parallel and the lower channel sidewalls are substantially parallel. The lower flanges that form the top of the lower channel are preferably substantially in co-planar parallelism.
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawing, and:
Referring to
Next, bends or folds 34, 36 are made and this defines the height of the header. Vertically, the header extends upwardly from the corners 34, 36 to the corners 26, 28. At this point the width of the header is established. It is the horizontal distance between the outside surfaces of outside walls 38, 40.
The next bends or folds are made at 42, 44. At the time shown by
Referring now to
When the sheet metal member 10 is bent in the manner described, a header beam H is formed that comprises an upwardly opening channel 58 and a downwardly opening channel 60. When the beam H is complete, the flanges 54, 56 are in co-planar parallelism immediately below the bottom wall 12 of the upper channel 58. The regions 50, 52 fold against the sidewalls 38, 40 and form sidewalls 38, 50 and 40, 52 for the lower channel 60. The flanges 54, 56 form a top for the lower channel 60 that is positioned immediately below the bottom 12 of the upper channel 58. Accordingly, the sheet-metal header beam H is constructed from a single sheet metal member 10 that is bent at the corners between the flanges 54, 56 and the inside sidewalls 50, 52 of the lower channel 60, at the folds 34, 36, at the upper corners 26, 28 where the outer sidewalls 38, 40 meet the top walls 30, 32, at the corners 22, 24 where the top walls 30, 32 meet the inside walls 14, 16 of the upper channel 58, and at the corners 18, 20 where the lower edge boundaries of the sidewalls 14, 16 meet the side boundaries of the bottom wall 12.
The upper end portions of studs 60, 62 which form the side boundaries of the window or door opening 64 fit into an upper channel or track. The inside width of the upper and lower channels 60, 62 is substantially equal to the outside width of the studs S.
As clearly shown by FIGS. 1 and 3-4, the top walls 30, 32 of header H are substantially in co-planar parallelism. The upper channel sidewalls 14, 16 diverge apart as they extend upwardly from the upper channel bottom wall to the corners 22, 24. By way of example, the angles X (
As also shown by FIGS. 1 and 3-4, the outside walls 38, 40 are substantially parallel to each other. The lower channel sidewalls 38, 50 and 40, 52 are substantially parallel. The flanges 46, 48 are in substantially co-planar parallelism.
The illustrated embodiment forms an example of the present invention and, therefore, is non-limitive. It is to be understood that many changes to the particular structure, materials and features of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is my intention that my patent rights not be limited by the particular embodiment that is illustrated and described herein, but rather are to be determined by the following claims, interpreted according to accepted doctrines of patent claim interpretation, including use of the doctrine of equivalents.
