Patent Application
20070261348
This invention relates to building walls formed of framing and wallboard covering. More particularly, it relates to an improved mounting member for resiliently connecting the wallboard to the framing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,805, granted Dec. 5, 1995, to Duane W. Becker, discloses connecting a wall panel 20 to framing 18 in a spaced relationship. Elongated sheet metal spacers 70 are attached to the framing 18 and the wallboard panels are attached to the spacers 70. This use of the spacers 70 allows the wall covering 20 to be connected to the studding 18 while at the same time permitting limited movement of the wall covering 20 relative to the framing 18. There is a need for improving the spacer so that the wallboard covering can and will move relative to the framing 18 in response to smaller forces that are required when the system of prior art spacers 70 is used. It is a primary object of the present invention to fill this need.
The present invention includes providing a spacer or mounting member for a wallboard panel in the form of an elongated sheet metal member having parallel first and second opposite edge portions, a central portion, and first and second angled portions connecting the edge portions to the central portion. The first angled portion makes an acute angle with both the first edge portion and the central portion. The second angled portion makes an acute angle with both the second edge portion and the central portion. The first edge portion is adapted to be connected to framing members. The second edge portion is adapted to be contacted by a wall panel and receive fasteners that extend through the wall panel into the second edge portion.
Preferably, a plurality of openings are formed in at least one of the central portion and the first and second angled portions. In one embodiment, a row of openings is provided in each of the angled portions and in the central portion. In another embodiment, a row of openings is provided in each of the angled portions but not in the central portion.
The openings may be circular openings or they may be longitudinal slots. In one embodiment, longitudinal slots are provided in both angled portions and in the central portion and the slots in the central portion are longitudinally offset from the slots in the angled portions.
The construction of the mounting member to include two edge portions, two angled portions and a central portion results in four hinge lines spaced apart across the width of the mounting member. The four hinge lines make the mounting member more resilient than the prior art mounting members which only have two hinge lines. The provisions of openings in one or more all of the two angled portions and the central portion provides additional resiliency in the wallboard panel mounting members.
These and other advantages, objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the illustrated embodiments, and the drawings and the claims, all of which are incorporated herein and are part of the disclosure of the invention.
In the drawings, like reference numerals are used to designate like parts throughout, and:
The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,805, U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,364, granted Feb. 21, 1989, to Robert A. Smolik, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,132, granted Apr. 20, 1993, also to Robert A. Smolik, each show a building wall constructed from horizontal and vertical framing members and wallboard paneling. The framing members are constructed from either wood or sheet metal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,805 discloses connecting horizontal spacers 70 to the vertical framing members (studs) and connecting the wallboard paneling to the spacers 70. An edge portion of the spacer 70 is connected to the framing members and the wallboard paneling is connected to portions of the spacers 70 that are offset from the edge portions used for mounting the spacers on the framing. The present invention provides several improved constructions of the spacer.
As is well known, the studs 12 are spaced apart a predetermined distance. A common spacing of the studs is sixteen inches on center or twenty-four inches on center. However, it is common to space some of the studs closer together than the standard spacing of sixteen inches or twenty-four inches. The wallboard wall covering comes in standard sheet sizes of four feet by eight feet, four feet by ten feet and four feet by twelve feet. Each wallboard panel 14 is a full sheet or a partial sheet.
The mounting members 10 of the invention each have a first edge portion 16, a second edge portion 18, first and second angled portions 20, 22 and a central portion 24. This provides four bends or fold lines 26, 28, 30, 32 in the central part of member 10. This is best shown by
A lip 19 may be provided at the outer edge of edge portion 18 to stiffen edge portion 18.
In similar fashion to the prior art spacers 70 shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,805, for example, the mounting edge portion 16 is connected to the framing 12 by screws 34 that are preferably installed by use of a power screw driver. The paneling 14 is connected to the opposite edge portion 18 of the connector member 10, also by use of screw fasteners 36, shown in the form of flathead countersunk screws 36.
As best shown by
The fourth embodiment 10′″ includes a first row of circular openings 42 in angled portion 22, a second row of circular openings 44 in central portion 24 and a third row of openings 46 in angled portion 20. In all three embodiments 10′, 10″, 10′″ the fold lines 26, 28, 30, 32 are continuous. As a result, the mounting member 10 retains longitudinal stiffness. However, the openings 38, 40, 42, 44, 46 help with the multiple fold lines 26, 28, 30, 32 to make the mounting member 10 resilient in the direction normal to the wall 12, 14.
By way of typical example, the mounting strip may have a total width of about three and one half inches (3½″). The first edge portion 16 may have a width of about three quarters of an inch (¾″). The edge portion 18 may have a width of about one and one half inches (1½″). The central portion 24 and the angled portions 20, 22 may each have a width of about one half inches (½″). The offset of edge portion 18 from edge portion 16 may be about eleven sixteenth of an inch ( 11/16″). In the embodiments that include slots, the slots may be about three inches (3″) long and the material between the slots may measure about one half inches (½″) wide. The slot width may be about one fourth (¼″) of an inch wide. In the embodiment that includes circular openings, the diameter of the openings may be about one fourth (¼″) of an inch in diameter.
In the last three embodiments, the strips of material between the slots 40 or openings 44 form hinges that flex in response to forces imposed on the wallboard in a direction normal to the wall.
The illustrated embodiments are only examples of the present invention and, therefore, are non-limitive. It is to be understood that many changes in 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 embodiments that are 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.
