The present invention is directed to track for use in metal stud walls and particularly to a track which increases the ease of installation of metal stud walls.
Metal stud walls are commonly used, especially in commercial, institutional and industrial construction, because of their fire resistance and non-warping characteristics. Such stud walls generally have a bottom and top track attached to the floor and ceiling respectively and a plurality of spaced apart studs extending vertically between the tracks. In a typical installation, the studs are spaced 16 or 24 inches apart to accommodate the 4 foot widths of wall covering material such as drywall or other sheets. In order to make the installation of the studs easier, a number of tracks have been developed with one or more structures on the upstanding walls of the track that hold the studs in the track at the proper spacing. Examples of such structures are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,423,893 issued Jan. 28, 1969 to Hyatt; U.S. Pat. No. 3,536,345 issued Oct. 27, 1970 to Leifer; U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,271 issued Aug. 1, 1972 to Satchell; U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,364 issued Feb. 21, 1989 to Smolik; U.S. Pat. No. 4,809,476 issued Mar. 7, 1989 to Satchell; U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,096 issued Aug. 8, 1989 to Smolik; U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,335 issued Jun. 29, 1993 to Petrecca; U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,651 issued Jul. 5, 1994 to Meyer and Sardjono; U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,665 issued Mar. 7, 1995 to Johnson; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,012 issued Aug. 26, 1997 to Knudson among others. Such designs of tracks do suffer drawbacks in that the additional structure increases the costs of manufacturing the track. In addition, should the stud have to be installed in a position other than the regular spacing, there is no support structure provided and the installer has to once again measure for the placement of the stud.
The present invention provides for a metal track for use in constructing metal stud walls. The track is a generally U-shaped channel having a base and upstanding side walls extending along either side of the base. The base is provided with a plurality of embossed indicator means evenly spaced along the length of the base. The spacing of the embossed indicator means provides a guide for the proper spacing of studs to be placed in the base.
In an aspect of the invention, the spacing between the embossed indicator means on the base is 1″.
In another aspect of the invention, the embossed indicator means are spaced 4″ apart on the base.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the attached drawings wherein:
A first preferred embodiment of a track for use in metal stud walls is illustrated in
The use of the track 10 of the present invention for construction of a metal stud wall is illustrated in
The spacing of the indicator means 16 and 18 on the base 12 of the track 10 is selected to provide proper spacing to act as a guide for the location of the studs 20 in the completed wall. The typical spacing of studs 20 in completed walls are either 12, 16 or 24 inches on center. In order to provide the proper spacing between them, a first embossed indicator means 16 is selected to provide 12, 16 or 24 inches as a multiple of the spacing. Preferably, embossed indicator means 16 are located 4 inches apart, thus providing for a guide for any multiple of 4 inches spacing by utilizing the properly spaced apart embossed indicator means 16. Thus, by selecting every third, fourth or sixth embossed indicator means 16 respectively, the spacings of 12, 16 and 24 inches on center for the studs 20 may be easily located.
A second embossed indicator means 18 is provided intermediate the first embossed indicator means 16 to provide for greater flexibility in the management of the distance along the track to which the stud is to be attached. Preferably, the second embossed indicator means 18 are spaced 1 inch apart, thus providing a ready made inch ruler along the base of the track 10.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the embossed indicator means 16 and 18 are elongated embossed lines extending across the base 12. In order to differentiate the first indicator means 16 from the second indicator means 18, it is preferred if the length of the first and second indicator means 16 and 18 are different. Thus, preferably, the first indicator means 16 has a length greater than the second indicator means 18. More preferably, the length of the first indicator means 16 is at least half the width of the base and length of the second indicator means 18 is less than half the width of the base 12.
A second embodiment of a track 10 of the present invention is illustrated in
In this embodiment the first and second embossed indicator means 16 and 18 are differentiated one from another by providing them in different locations along the base 12 of the track 10. For example, as illustrated in the figure first embossed indicator means 30 are provided along the edge of the base 12 of the track 10 while second embossed indicator means 32 are provided along the centre of the base 12 of the track 10. Other ways of differentiating the embossed indicator means one from the other may also be provided such that different sizes of circular punches for each of the two indicator means or the number of circular punches for each of the indicator means. Thus, the first indicator means could be provided by two circular punches in the center of the base 12 of the track 10 beside each other while the second indicator means could be provided as a single circular punch in the base of the track 10.
The indicator means may also be provided in other ways. For example, suitable printing means may be used to print the indicator means along the interior of the track on the base or exterior on the side wall of the track. Preferably, this printing is accomplished by ink jet printing utilizing an ink which will adhere to the metal of the web of the track.
The track of the present invention provides the advantage that the installation and erection of metal stud walls and buildings is made easier and quicker for the installer. The embossed indicating means located in the base of the track provide a guideline for the proper spacing of the studs located in the stud wall by being able to easily locate the studs in the stud walls at their proper position. The installer's job is thus made easier as he does not have to measure to locate each stud in the proper spacing of the adjacent stud.
Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described herein in detail, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2,499,227 | Mar 2005 | CA | national |