Patent Grant
11111677
The exterior surfaces of buildings are exposed to a variety of environmental conditions that can cause damage if the surfaces are not suitably protected. Examples of such environmental conditions include, without limitation, direct sunlight, rain, snow, hail, wind, and wind-driven objects (such as dirt, sand, and larger debris). Damage to the exterior surfaces of buildings over time, may lead to surface damage, including pitting, bleaching, and cracking. Longer exposure may result in severe structural damage that may result in cracks and, ultimately, loss of some amount of structural integrity of the side of the building. Siding, or rain screens, may be used to cover the exterior surfaces of building, thereby protecting them from the environment. Modular siding, especially, may be useful in that siding portions may be replaced when the portion of the siding is damaged.
Modular siding may be composed of any suitable material to withstand the environmental conditions including, without limitation, wood, polymers, metal, or a wood-polymer composites. Wood-polymer composites are especially useful material in that they may be fabricated of materials having specific properties. Examples of such properties may include insect resistance, mold resistance, sun bleaching resistance, and fire resistance. Additionally, wood-polymer composites may be fabricated to have any number of surface appearances that may mimic wood, stone, or other materials.
As disclosed above, a benefit of modular siding is that one or more portions of the siding can be installed and removed from the exterior surface of a building. It may be recognized that a modular siding portion that is affixed directly to the building exterior, for example through the use of nails or screws, may be difficult to remove if necessary and may result in damage to the builder exterior surface. In some aspects, one or more siding clips may be attached to the siding portions to permit easy installation and removal of individual siding portions.
Aspects of a siding clip are disclosed that are configured to: (1) secure one or more modular siding portions against vertical and lateral displacement; (2) insert into a groove of a vertically adjacent siding portion to releasably secure a lower siding portion against an upper siding portion; (3) permit air motion both vertically and horizontally in the space between the siding portion and the adjacent exterior surface of the building; and (4) be inconspicuous to an observer of the siding.
In one aspect, a siding clip may include at least one tab including a tab through hole, a base including at least one base through hole, a side portion affixed to an edge of the at least one tab at a first side portion end and to an edge of the base at a second side portion end, thereby forming a gap between the at least one tab and the base, wherein the tab through hole is disposed opposite to one of the at least one base through holes, and at least one coupling flange having a plane parallel to a plane of the at least one tab and including at least one insertion feature, in which the at least one coupling flange is disposed in a direction opposite to a direction of the at least one tab.
As disclosed above, a modular siding portion that is affixed directly to the building exterior, for example through the use of nails or screws, may be difficult to remove if necessary and may result in damage to the builder exterior surface. To obviate this disadvantage, one or more siding clips may be attached to the siding portions to permit easy installation and removal of individual siding portions. Several aspects of a siding clip may improve its utility in attaching one or more siding portions to a building exterior surface. It is advantageous for a siding clip to securely hold the individual siding portions together. It is further advantageous that the siding clip not be visible to an observer. It is further advantageous that the siding clip be able to permit air motion, both vertically and horizontally, in the space between the siding portions and the building exterior surface. These, and other features, may be advantageously incorporated into the structure and design of the siding clips. Disclosed below are aspects of a siding clip that incorporates such advantageous features.
As disclosed above, it is useful to have a mechanism for easy installation and removal of portions of sidings. In some aspects, such a mechanism may involve the use of one or more clips attached to the siding portions. In some aspects, the clips may be configured to be affixed to one siding portion and may have components to allow removable coupling with an adjacent siding portion. In some aspects, the clips may also be configured to be affixed to one or more ferring strips on which the siding portions may be mounted. In some additional aspects, the clips may be configured so that a single assembler may be able to assemble multiple siding portions together. In yet another aspect, the clips may be configured to permit air motion across the ferring strips. These are other aspects may be advantageously incorporated in a siding clip disclosed herein.
The siding clip 200 may further include one or more coupling flanges 235a,b. The one or more coupling flanges 235a,b may be essentially co-planar with the top tab 205, and may be disposed in a direction opposite to the top tab 205. In some examples, a plane of the one or more coupling flanges 235a,b may be offset from the plane of the top tab 205. In some aspects, the plane of the one or more coupling flanges 235a,b offset from the plane of the top tab 205 may nevertheless be effectively parallel to the plane of the top tab 205. It may be understood that the one or more coupling flanges 235a,b may be disposed not to overlap the bottom base 210.
The one or more coupling flanges 235a,b may include insertion features 240a,b configured for insertion into a side groove fabricated into a second siding portion. In some aspects, the insertion features 240a,b may include one or more essentially triangular teeth. Non-limiting examples of such insertion features 240a,b may include one triangular tooth, two triangular teeth, three triangular teeth, four triangular or any integer number of triangular teeth. However, it may be recognized that the insertion features 240a,b may have any form suitable for engaging a groove in a siding portion. For example, the insertion features 240a,b may have a crenelated aspect having alternating extending portions and spaces. The extending portions may be triangular (toothed or dentate), rectangular, rounded, or any other shape. Alternatively, the insertion features 240a,b may have a shape of a corrugated fastener.
It may be recognized that the siding clip 200 depicted in
The siding clip 800 may further include one or more coupling flanges 835. The one or more coupling flanges 835 may be essentially co-planar with the top tabs 805a,b, and may be disposed in a direction opposite to the top tabs 805a,b. In some examples, a plane of the one or more coupling flanges 835 may be offset from the plane of the top tabs 805a,b. In some aspects, the plane of the one or more coupling flanges 835 offset from the plane of the top tabs 805a,b may nevertheless be effectively parallel to the plane of the top tabs 805a,b. It may be understood that the one or more coupling flanges 835 may be disposed not to overlap the bottom base 810. The one or more coupling flanges 835 may include insertion features 840a,b configured for insertion into a side groove fabricated into a second siding portion. In some aspects, the insertion features 840a,b may include one or more essentially triangular teeth.
As disclosed above, the aspect of the siding clip 800 in
It may be recognized that the siding clip 800 depicted in
Disclosed above are aspects of a siding clip that may be used in the fabrication of a siding wall against an exterior of a building. Although the particular numbers and shapes of the siding clip are explicitly disclosed, it may be recognized that variations within the scope of this disclosure may also be considered. For example, the number of tabs may include one, two, or multiple tabs depending on the intended use of the siding clip. The base may be a single component or may include multiple base components. Any number of coupling flanges may be incorporated into the siding clip, and the coupling flanges may include any of a variety of insertion features so that they can engage a groove of a siding portion.
While several forms have been illustrated and described, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Numerous modifications, variations, changes, substitutions, combinations, and equivalents to those forms may be implemented and will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the structure of each element associated with the described forms can be alternatively described as a means for providing the function performed by the element. Also, where materials are disclosed for certain components, other materials may be used. It is therefore to be understood that the foregoing description and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, combinations, and variations as falling within the scope of the disclosed forms. The appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, variations, changes, substitutions, modifications, and equivalents.
One or more components may be referred to herein as “configured to,” “configurable to,” “operable/operative to,” “adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc. Those skilled in the art will recognize that “configured to” can generally encompass active-state components and/or inactive-state components and/or standby-state components, unless context requires otherwise.
The terms “proximal” and “distal” are used herein with reference to a clinician manipulating the handle portion of the surgical instrument. The term “proximal” refers to the portion closest to the clinician and the term “distal” refers to the portion located away from the clinician. It will be further appreciated that, for convenience and clarity, spatial terms such as “vertical”, “horizontal”, “lateral,” “up”, and “down” may be used herein with respect to the drawings. However, surgical instruments are used in many orientations and positions, and these terms are not intended to be limiting and/or absolute.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.
In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art will appreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed in any order. Also, although various operational flow diagrams are presented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may be performed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise.
It is worthy to note that any reference to “one aspect,” “an aspect,” “an exemplification,” “one exemplification,” and the like means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the aspect is included in at least one aspect. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one aspect,” “in an aspect,” “in an exemplification,” and “in one exemplification” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same aspect. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more aspects.
Any patent application, patent, non-patent publication, or other disclosure material referred to in this specification and/or listed in any Application Data Sheet is incorporated by reference herein, to the extent that the incorporated materials is not inconsistent herewith. As such, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure as explicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting material incorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portion thereof, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth herein will only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arises between that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.
In summary, numerous benefits have been described which result from employing the concepts described herein. The foregoing description of the one or more forms has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the precise form disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The one or more forms were chosen and described in order to illustrate principles and practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the various forms and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the claims submitted herewith define the overall scope.
Various aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:
Example 1. A siding clip comprising:
at least one tab comprising a tab through hole;
a base comprising at least one base through hole;
a side portion affixed to an edge of the at least one tab at a first side portion end and to an edge of the base at a second side portion end, thereby forming a gap between the at least one tab and the base, wherein the tab through hole is disposed opposite to one of the at least one base through holes; and
at least one coupling flange having a plane parallel to a plane of the at least one tab and comprising at least one insertion feature,
wherein the at least one coupling flange is disposed in a direction opposite to a direction of the at least one tab.
Example 2. The siding clip of Example 1, wherein the at least one tab comprises a single tab, and the at least one base through hole comprises a single base through hole and the tab through hole of the single tab is disposed opposite to the single base through hole.
Example 3. The siding clip of any one or more of Examples 1 through 2, wherein the at least one tab is centered along a lateral length of the siding clip.
Example 4. The siding clip of any one or more of Examples 1 through 3, wherein the at least one coupling flange comprises two coupling flanges, and a first coupling flange is disposed proximate to a first lateral end of the siding clip and the second coupling flange is disposed proximate to a second lateral end of the siding clip.
Example 5. The siding clip of Example 4, wherein the first coupling flange comprises a first bidentate insertion feature and the second coupling flange comprises a second bidentate insertion feature.
Example 6. The siding clip of any one or more of Examples 1 through 5, wherein the gap is configured to receive an edge of a first siding portion.
Example 7. The siding clip of any one or more of Examples 1 through 6, wherein the at least one coupling flange is configured to be received by an edge groove of a second siding portion.
Example 8. The siding clip of any one or more of Examples 1 through 7, wherein the at least one tab comprises a first tab and a second tab, and the at least one base through hole comprises a first base through hole and a second base through hole.
Example 9. The siding clip of Example 8, wherein the first tab is disposed proximate to a first lateral end of the siding clip and the second tab is disposed proximate to a second lateral end of the siding clip.
Example 10. The siding clip of any one or more of Examples 8 through 9, wherein a tab through hole of the first tab is disposed opposite to the first base through hole and a tab through hole of the second tab is disposed opposed to the second base through hole.
Example 11. The siding clip of any one or more of Examples 8 through 10, wherein the at least one coupling flange comprises a single coupling flange disposed medially between the first tab and the second tab.
Example 12. The siding clip of Example 11, wherein the coupling flange comprises a first bidentate insertion feature and a second bidentate insertion feature.
Example 13. The siding clip of Example 12, wherein the first bidentate insertion feature is disposed proximate to a first lateral end of the coupling flange and the second bidentate insertion feature is disposed proximate to a second lateral end of the coupling flange.
Example 14. The siding clip of any one or more of Examples 8 through 13, wherein the gap is configured to receive an edge of a fourth siding portion between the first tab and the base, and the gap is configured to receive an edge of a fifth siding portion between the second tab and the base.
Example 15. The siding clip of any one or more of Examples 11 through 14, wherein the coupling flange is configured to be received by an edge groove of at least a sixth siding portion.
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