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Description  |
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BACKGROUND
This invention relates to a one-piece rigid connector for joining an
upright supported member to a support structure having a support surface
and an angularly related edge surface. An example of such a structure is a
guard rail post attached to a deck structure.
Traditionally, one piece connectors have not been used in building such
structures. Instead, guard posts have been connected to deck structures by
bolts, lag screws and nails in various wood-to-wood configurations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The gist of the present invention is the use of a one-piece sheet metal
connector which permits the base of the deck post to rest on top of the
deck and to be aligned flush with the edge of the deck.
An object is to encapsulate the base of the post on at least three side.in
a secure manner which provides overturn resistance in at least three
directions.
Another object is to provide a connector which provides secure attachment
of the post to the deck edge.
A further object is to provide a connector which provides connection of the
sides of the post to the deck surface.
Still another object is to provide shear attachment between the connector
and the surface of the deck and to resist overturn of the post.
A further object is to provide a connector which registers with the post
and deck so that no raw edges are exposed which could cause injury.
A still further object is to provide a connector which can be used on a
deck regardless of the directional orientation of the deck boards.
Finally, the connector must be suitable for installation of a corner post.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the connector of the present invention
attached to a deck post, deck boards and deck edge board.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of two connectors attached to portion of two
posts and a portion of a deck.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with
portions of the deck post and deck shown in phantom line.
FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the connector illustrated in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the connector taken along line 5--5 in
FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the connector taken along line 6--6 in
FIG. 3.
FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the connector taken along line 7--7 in
FIG. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention is an upright wood post connection 1 comprising an
upright supported member 2 having a longitudinal axis 3, a base 4, a back
side 5, and first and second side faces 6 and 7; a support structure 8
having a first support surface 9 and a second support surface 10 angularly
related thereto; a rigid one connector 11 having: (1) an elongated rigid
overturning moment resistant structural back member 12 having a
longitudinal axis 13 and a lower portion 14 in registration with a portion
of the second support surface 10 of the support structure 8 and an upper
portion 15 in registration with a portion of the back face 5 of the
upright supported member 2; (2) a first side member 16 connected to the
upper portion 15 of the elongated rigid back member 12 and disposed for
connection to the first side 6 of the upright supported member 2; (3) a
second side member 17 connected to the upper portion 15 of the elongated
rigid back member 12 and disposed for connection to the second side 7 of
the upright supported member 2; (4) a first flange member 18 connected to
the first side member 16 of the rigid one-piece connector 11 and disposed
for connection to the first support surface 9 of the support structure 8;
(5) a second flange 19 connected to the second side member 17 and disposed
for connection to the first support surface 9 of the support structure 8;
back connector fastening means 20 joining the lower portion 14 of the
elongated rigid back member 12 to the second support surface 10 of the
support structure 8; side connector fastening means 21 respectively
joining the first and second sides 16 and 17 of the rigid one-piece
connector 11 to the first and second sides 6 and 7 of the upright
supported member 2; and flange connector fastening means 22 respectively
joining the first and second flange members 18 and 19 to the first support
surface 9 of the support structure 8.
Back connector fastening means 20, side connector fastening means 1, and
flange connector fastening means 22 are preferably nails which may be
driven by a hand held hammer. Instead of nails, wood screws may also be
used.
The attachment of railing posts to decks is subject to 1985 Uniform
Building Code, Section 1711 which provides that commercial type railing
shall be 42" high, and residential type railing shall be 36" high, with 50
lbs./ft. resistance value to overturn.
Assuming post centers at about 4' on center for example, this requires
residential posts to have a resistance value at rail height of 80 lbs.,
times safety factor of 3, or measured 240 lbs. Commercial or occupancy
load of 50 or greater requires, in the same example, 800 lbs of tested
load resistance per post.
To meet code requirements, the rigid one-piece connector 11 may be formed
with an elongated rigid back member 12 having a sufficient thickness
throughout its length to resist buckling upon the application of a
selected force acting at an angle against the longitudinal axis 3 of the
upright member 2.
To provide overturning moment resistance and to reduce the weight of the
connector, overtugning moment means is structural preferably formed in the
elongated rigid back member 12 of the connector for resisting failure due
to bending upon the application of a selected force acting at an angle
against the longitudinal axis 3 of the upright supported member 2.
Preferably, an otuer back member is formed in a portion of the elongated
rigid overturned moment resistant structural back member 12 of rigid
one-piece connector 11 with a channel-like shape portion 23 as shown in
cross section in FIG. 7 throughout a substantial longitudinal portion of
the elongated rigid back member 12. As best shown in FIGS. 1, 7 and 8, the
channel-like shaped portion 23 is formed with a first triangular shaped
side 38, a truncated pyramid shaped portion 25, and a second triangular
shaped side 39.
To improve the holding power of rigid one-piece connector 11, the lower
portion 14 of the elongated rigid back member 12 is formed with a
plurality of openings 24 configured to provide insertion of the back
connector fastening means 20 respectively therethrough and in a direction
other than orthogonally to the plane of the second support surface 10.
Preferably the back connector fastening means 20 are nails driven by a
hammer, and the plurality of openings 24 may be either restricted openings
formed as a slot and a tab-like member or an obround opening; both of
which are described and claimed in my patent Gilb U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,941
DOUBLE SHEAR ANGLED FASTENER CONNECTOR granted Nov. 6, 1984. The obround
hole opening is further described and claimed in my pate3nt Gilb, U.S.
Pat. No. 4,230,416, RESTRICTED SLOT NAIL OPENINGS FOR SHEET METAL FRAMING
CONNECTORS, granted Oct. 28, 1980.
In a preferred construction, the first and second side members 16 and 17
are formed with a plurality of slant nail openings 41 positioned adjacent
the first support surface 9 and configured to provide insertion of
fasteners respectively therethrough and in a direction other than
orthogonally to the plane of the respective first and second side faces 6
and 7 of the upright supported member 2. These slant nail openings 41 are
formed with a directional tab 43 and are the same as the openings
described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,416 supra. A plurality of slant-nail
fasteners 42 dimensioned for insertion respectively through said
slant-nail openings, are also driven through a portion of said upright
supported member 2 and into first support surface 9. FIG. 5 illustrates
how slant nail fasteners 42 extend into first support surface 9 and cause
the fasteners to be placed in double shear when joining upright support
member 2 and first support surface 9.
The channel-like shape portion 23 may be formed in various configurations
and a preferred form is shown in the drawings. Preferably, the
channel-like shape tapers outwardly from the upper portion of the
elongated rigid back member to the lower portion of the elongated rigid
back member. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, truncated pyramid shaped
portion 25 extends all the way from upper edge 6 to lower edge 44. As
shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, first and second triangular shaped sides 38 and 39
increase in width as they extend from edge 26 to edge 44. Thus the ability
to resist overturning moment imposed on upright supported member 2
increases with the depth of the truncated pyramid shaped portion 25.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, and 8, resistance to overturning of upright
supported member 2 can be greatly increased in the directions parallel to
second support surface 10 by forming a rigid one-piece connector so that
first flange 18 is connected to first side member 16 on a curved radius.
The curved radius may be approximated by forming a triangular shaped
portion 45 by bending upwardly 45.degree. along bend lines 46 and 47.
Second flange member 19 may be connected to second side member 17 on a
curved radius. The curved radius may be approximated by forming a
triangular shaped portion 48 by bending upwardly 45.degree. along bend
lines 49 and 50.
A method of making a rail post base for decks of the present invention
consists of the steps of: selecting a sheet metal blank as illustrated in
FIG. 8 having a gauge thickness suitable for machine bending and of
sufficient rigidity to withstand bending forces as well as to withstand
shear forces; cutting the sheet metal blank so as to form an elongated
rigid back member 12 having a truncated pyramid shaped portion 25, a first
side member 16 joined to an upper portion 15 of the elongated rigid back
member 12, a second side member 17 joined to the other side of the upper
portion 15 of the elongated rigid back member 12, a first flange member 18
connected to the first side member 16, and a second flange 19 connected to
the second side member 17; bending the first flange member 18 upwardly
90.degree. relative to the first side member 16; bending the second flange
member 19 upwardly 90.degree. relative to the second side member 17;
bending the first side member downwardly 90.degree. along a first bend
line 32; bending the second side member downwardly 90.degree. along a
second bend line 33; bending a truncated pyramid shaped portion 25 of the
elongated rigid back member 12 downwardly approximately 90.degree. along
third and fourth bend lines 28 and 29 which converge from first and second
starting points 30 and 31 along a top edge line 26 and extend to a bottom
edge 44 of the elongated rigid back member 12; bending a first triangular
shaped portion 36 of the elongated rigid back member 12 upwardly
approximately 90.degree. along a fifth bend line 34 adjacent to and
diverging from the first bend line 32; and bending a second triangular
shaped portion 37 of the elongated rigid back member 12 upwardly
approximately 90.degree. along a sixth bend line 35 adjacent to and
diverging from the second bend line 33.
It has been found that notching certain edges of the rigid one-piece
connector 11 and painting it black gives a more rustic aesthetic
appearance to the overall deck structure. Accordingly, one or more notches
51 and 52 are formed in first and second side members 16 and 17.
Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 8, it may be seen that an obround opening 53 is
punched in first flange member 18, and an obround opening 54 is punched in
second flange member 19. The purpose of providing obround opening 53 and
54 is to permit nails or other type fasteners 55 and 56 to be inserted
through the obround openings at an angle and then hammered or screwed into
deck board 56 and then on into facia board 58. The important fact to be
considered is that fastener nails 55 and 56 are now placed in double shear
and the ability of the rigid one-piece connector 11 to resist overturning
moment in a direction toward the outside of the deck is greatly increased.
Since nails 55 and 56 are embedded in two pieces of wood; viz. deck board
57 and facia board 58, the resistance provided by nails 55 and 56 are the
shear value of the nails rather than the resistance to straight pull out
which would be considerably less.
FIG. 2 illustrates one method of constructing a deck using the present
invention. Two rigid one-piece connectors 11 and 11' are shown. Both are
identical and like parts of the second connector are identified by numbers
ending with a prime ('). The top surfaces of the deck boards 57 are shown
flush with the top edge 59 of facia board 58. The deck boards could have
been placed on top of the facia board 58 and the invention would. still
work satisfactorily. As shown, a ledger board is attached 60 to facia
board 58 and the ends of deck boards 57 rest on the top edge of the ledger
board 60. A lower rung 61 is attached to upright supported members 2 and
2' and balusters 62 are connected to the lower rail.
A feature of the present invention is the fact that the same rigid
one-piece connector 11 can also be used to support a corner post by simply
bending down one of the flange members so that it is on the same plane as
the side member. Instead o a to the top of the deck board, the flange
member which is bent down attaches to the facia board.
Installation
Installation of the rigid one-piece connector 11 is as follows. The deck is
constructed as previously stated and one example is illustrated in FIGS. 1
and 2. When the connector is correctl located, nails 22 are driven through
openings 63 in first and second flange members 18 and 19. Nail 22 driven
through opening 63 engages deck board 67, nail 22 driven through opening
65 engages deck board 68, and nails 22 driven through openings 64 and 66
engage facia board 58. Forces on bottom railing 61 attached to posts 2 and
2' exert a force primarily at right angles to the direction of the driven
nails 22 and all of the nails bearing the number 22 would be in shear.
Forces, as shown by arrow 69, on the top rail (not shown) would exert a
moment force which would exert an overturnign force on the posts 2 and 2'
and result in a force tending to pull the nails attached to first and
second flange members 18 and 19 upwardly. To provide moment resistance,
nails 55 and 56 are driven on a slant as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 through
obround openings 53 and 54. This places nails 55 and 56 at least in single
shear. In most instances, nails 55 and 56, when driven on a slant as shown
in FIGS. 1 and 3, penetrate deck board 57 as well as facia board 58 which
causes nails 55 and 56 to be placed in double shear thereby increasing the
resistance of the nails to the overturning moment forces.
Next, nails 20 are driven on a slant through openings 24 as guided by tabs
40 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 7. Very little downward force is exerted
on nails 20 since the posts 2 and 2' rest on the deck boards 57 and facia
board 58. Nails 20, however must resist forces imposed on the railing and
posts as represented by arrow 70. Such a force would tend to subject nails
to pull-out, but since nails 20 are driven at a slant, they would be in
shear, thus contributing a great deal more resistance.
Nails 21 are driven though openings 71 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Nails 21
resist downward forces as well as overturning moment forces in shear.
Openings 71 need only be round so that nails 21 will be orthogonally
driven.
As previously stated, nails 42 driven through openings 41 and guided by
tabs 43 engage post 2 as well as either deck board 57 or facia board 58.
As a result, nails 42 are in double shear and provide resistance to
overturning forces caused by either forces 69 or 70.
Encapsulation of posts 2' and 2 on three sides by first and second side
members 16 and 17 results in stabilizing the posts as well or better than
bolted posts.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4, 6, and 8, a folded edge extension 73 attached
to lower edge 44 of truncated pyramid shaped portion 25 is bent downwardly
at a 65.degree. angle to provide stiffness to the channel like shaped
portion 23.
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