U.S. patent application number 10/035488 was filed with the patent office on 2003-04-24 for slotted metal stud.
Invention is credited to Surowiecki, Matt.
Application Number | 20030074849 10/035488 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 21883010 |
Filed Date | 2003-04-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030074849 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Surowiecki, Matt |
April 24, 2003 |
Slotted metal stud
Abstract
An elongate wall stud has a slot in upper end portions for use
in a wall structure having a plurality of such studs extending
between a floor and a ceiling support beam. In wall construction,
pins connect said upper end portions of the studs to a support beam
on the ceiling, the support beam having a base, a pair of side
flanges depending from the base for receiving therebetween said
stud upper end portions, said studs slots receiving the pins and
allowing relative vertical movement between the support beam and
the studs. Said pins include hollow and solid rivets and screws. A
head on the rivet inside the slotted stud larger than the slot
width prevents the rivet from passing out of the stud through the
slot while loosely tying the stud to the channel and allowing
longitudinal movement of the stud in the channel.
Inventors: |
Surowiecki, Matt; (Issaquah,
WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
David L. Tingey
321 Burnett Ave. S., Suite 303
Renton
WA
98055
US
|
Family ID: |
21883010 |
Appl. No.: |
10/035488 |
Filed: |
October 19, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/301 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B 2/7411 20130101;
E04C 3/07 20130101; E04C 2003/0473 20130101; E04B 2/825
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/301 |
International
Class: |
E04H 012/00 |
Claims
Having described the invention, what is claimed is the
following:
1. An elongate wall stud comprising two opposing sides separated by
a back and an abbreviated fourth side opposite the back including a
first part extending from one side and a second part extending from
the other side, at least one side having a slot longitudinal with
the stud at a stud end portion adapted to receive a pin
therethrough without the pin engaging the stud.
2. An elongate wall stud for use in a wall structure having a
plurality of studs extending between a floor and a ceiling support
beam with pins connecting upper end portions of the studs to a
support beam having a base, a pair of side flanges depending from
the base for receiving therebetween said stud upper end portions,
said studs each having a slot longitudinal with the stud in said
stud upper end portions adapted to receive at least one of said
pins therein after said at least one of said pins passes through
the side flange therein slidably connecting the support beam and
the studs sized to fit in slidable contact therein while allowing
relative vertical movement between the support beam and the studs,
said studs comprising two opposing sides separated by a back and an
abbreviated fourth side opposite the back including a first part
extending from one side and a second part extending from the other
side.
3. A wall structure extending between a floor and a ceiling,
comprising a plurality of elongate wall studs each including two
opposing sides separated by a back and an abbreviated fourth side
opposite the back including a first part extending from one side
and a second part extending from the other side, at least one side
of at least one of said plurality of elongate wall studs having a
slot longitudinal with the stud at a stud end portion into which a
pin may pass and slide; a support beam, including a base and
opposing side flanges depending from the base receiving said
plurality of wall studs therebetween, the studs sized to fit in
slidable contact therein; a pin connecting said stud end portion to
one of said support beam flanges, the pin passing through the
support beam flange and into said slot, allowing relative vertical
movement between the support beam and the stud.
4. The wall structure of claim 3 further comprising a stud
wallboard member mounted on the studs.
5. The wall structure of claim 4 further comprising a flange
wallboard member mounted on at least one of the support beam
flanges.
6. The wall structure of claim 5 in which the stud wallboard member
overlaps in parallel and in staggered relation to the flange
wallboard member allowing the stud wallboard member to slide
relative to the flange wallboard member as the stud moves relative
to the support beam with the pin or pins moving within the slot or
slots.
7. An elongate wall stud section of constant cross-sectional
dimension comprising two opposing sides separated by a back and an
abbreviated fourth side opposite the back including a first part
extending from one side and a second part extending from the other
side, at least one side having a slot longitudinal with the stud
section at a stud section end portion adapted to receive a pin
therethrough without the pin engaging the stud and attachable to a
metal, unslotted stud with a portion of its back against a back of
said metal, unslotted stud at an end of said metal, unslotted stud
therein converting the unslotted stud to an effective slotted stud
sized to fit in slidable contact with the member to which it may be
affixed.
8. The combination of (1) a first metal, unslotted stud having a
back and an end and (2) a second stud section of constant
cross-section dimension comprising two opposing sides separated by
a back, at least one side of said second stud section having a slot
longitudinal with the second stud section at a stud section end
portion adapted to receive a pin therethrough without the pin
engaging the second stud section, the stud section attached to the
metal, unslotted first stud with a portion of the second stud
section back face to face on the back of said metal, unslotted
first stud at the end of the metal, unslotted first stud therein
converting the unslotted first stud to an effective slotted
stud.
9. An elongate wall stud assembly comprising two opposing sides
separated by a back and an abbreviated fourth side opposite the
back including a first part extending from one side and a second
part extending from the other side, the back and sides defining a
stud inner volume, at least one stud side having a slot
longitudinal with the stud at a stud end portion and a width
transverse to the stud, a pin passing through the stud slot without
the pin securely engaging the stud, the pin having a first end
within the stud inner volume and a second end outside the stud back
and sides, the pin including a head on its first end larger than
the slot width within the stud inner volume preventing the pin from
passing through the stud from the stud inner volume to outside the
at least one stud side.
10. The assembly of claim 9 wherein the pin further includes a head
on its second end.
11. The assembly of claim 9 wherein the pin is a rivet with its
first end flared to comprise the head on the pin first end.
Description
[0001] This is a divisional application of this inventor's
application filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office
on Apr. 4, 1999 and assigned Ser. No. 09/293,074
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This invention relates to building wall construction and,
more particularly, to channel header and footer beams and matching
studs.
[0004] 2. Prior Art
[0005] Interior wall construction using horizontal channel beams as
headers and footers and matching vertical studs received into the
channel beams is well-known. Commonly, the studs are also
channel-shaped and both are made of metal, typically steel.
[0006] An advantage of steel wall construction is that it provides
a strong interior nonbearing wall that can be configured to allow
building movement such as during a seismic event without damage to
the wall. Paquette (U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,203) and Brady (U.S. Pat.
No. 5,127,760) describe a beam with a plurality of beam slots in
each beam flange. Building studs are placed in the beam, each at
one of the plurality of beam slots and a screw is inserted through
the slot and into the stud. Characteristically, the plurality of
beam slots exceeds in number the building studs installed with the
beam slots closely spaced for versatile application, allowing a
stud to be selectively located at any of the plurality of beam
slots. So that a stud may be located at a preferred location
virtually anywhere along the beam length, the beam slots must be
closely spaced in the beam. Consequently, most of the beam slots
remain unused in application. Although unused, they still require a
cost to make them, and the weaken beam strength.
[0007] With the stud in slotted beam construction, upon movement of
the building, the studs can slide vertically in the beam as the
screws slide in the beam slots. The allowed vertical movement of
the beams is clearly limited to the length of the beam slot as the
screw is constrained to slide within it which is itself limited by
the length of the beam flange. If the stud sliding in the beam were
not limited, except of course by the reach of the beam flanges,
then the stud in beam wall construction could accommodate a larger
range of movement than that allowed in the screws in slots
approach.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a stud for construction in conventional, unslotted channel
beams that enables a wide range of building movement (e.g., seismic
induced) and obviates the costly manufacture of slotted channel
beams. It is a further object such construction allows placement of
a stud along the channel beam arbitrarily, not restricted to
predetermined locations of slots in the channel beam. It is also an
object that the stud be slidable in the beam without limits of
movement imposed by beam slots.
[0009] These primary objects are achieved in a traditional shaped
metal stud, the improvement being a slot in stud sides running
longitudinally with the stud at a stud end for receiving a screw
therethrough. Thus, in construction, the stud is placed in a
traditional, unslotted channel beam normal to the beam web at a
selected position along the beam. A screw is drilled through the
beam flange and into the stud slot, typically on each side of the
stud. Thus, building movement is accommodated, as the stud is free
to slide vertically in the beam as the screw moves in the stud
slot. The only limit to vertical stud movement is the extent of the
slot in the stud, which is limited only by the length of the stud,
not an arbitrary channel beam flange length
[0010] In application, the stud and channel beam may be constructed
with wall board members respectively secured to the beam flange and
stud in a manner that allows the wall board members to slide
relatively to each other as the stud slides within the channel
beam. A pin or rivet may substitute the screw with a head on the
rivet inside the stud to prevent the rivet from passing out of the
stud during wind load when a wall might bend. The mechanical
fastening of the channel to the stud through the rivet transfers
wind load from the stud into the channel preventing wall failure
that might occur if the stud were free-floating and thus able to
separate from the channel. The pivot also prevents lateral movement
of the stud in the channel beam.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the 3-sided wall stud of the
present invention with an abbreviated fourth side showing side
slots in which wall-board attaching screws slide.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a wall stud slidable within
a beam with wall board members vertically aligned in spaced apart
relation respectively attached to the beam flange and the stud and
with another wall board member attached to the wall board member
attached to the flange outside and overlapping the other wall board
member.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a typical channel beam
showing a flange rim including a horizontal member and a vertical
member depending therefrom.
[0014] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a slotted stud extender
attached with screws to an end of a standard, unslotted stud.
[0015] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the slotted stud showing a
rivet joining the stud to a channel
[0016] FIG. 6 is an end view of the stud and channel with rivet of
FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] The metal wall construction of the present invention
comprises a channel beam 100 and a metal stud 10 mounted
orthogonally in the beam sized to fit in slidable contact therein,
typically constructed with wallboard 130 secured thereto. The
channel beam includes a horizontal web 102 and first and second
opposing flanges 104 and 106 depending vertically and approximately
perpendicular from the web in parallel, spaced apart relation. The
web and depending first and second opposing flanges form a
generally U-shaped channel 108. The channel width between the
opposing flanges is approximately equal to a building stud
cross-sectional length.
[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the wall stud 10 comprises opposing
first and second sides 14 and 16 separated by a stud back 18 with
an abbreviated fourth side 20 opposite the back. Near the end, or
upper portions, 22 of the stud on the opposing first and second
sides are extended side slots 24 running longitudinally with the
stud for receiving screws 120 therein. In construction with the
stud inserted into the channel beam normal to the beam web, at
least a portion of the stud slots locate within the channel beam
flanges. A screw 120 is then drilled through the beam flange and
into the stud slot. That is, the screw is not drilled into the stud
side but extends only into the stud slot allowing the stud to shift
relative to the support beam as the screw moves within the slot.
The same screw typically also mounts the wallboard 130 to the
channel beam to complete a wall comprising a channel beam
horizontal at a building ceiling with a plurality of slotted studs
vertical with stud ends in the channel beam between its flanges.
Wallboard is then screwed onto the flange with the screws passing
through the flange and into the slots of the studs. Wallboard is
also attached to the studs staggered from the wallboard attached to
the flanges so the respective wallboards slide with respect to each
other as the stud moves in the channel beam.
[0019] In lieu of the screw, a pin or rivet 125 with an outside
head 126 may substitute the screw. An inside head 127 on the rivet
125 inside the stud prevents the rivet 125 from passing out of the
stud and prevents lateral movement of the stud in the channel beam,
loosely tying the slotted stud to the channel while still allowing
longitudinal movement of the stud within the channel.
[0020] As an additional application, or alternative embodiment, of
the slotted stud, a short slotted stud section 40 comprises a
relatively short slotted stud as described above with slots 24 in
opposing stud sides 32 and 34 separated by a back 36. As shown in
FIG. 4, the stud section in application attaches to an upper end of
a conventional, unslotted metal stud 30 with screws or any other
suitable attachment means with the section back in face to face
contact with the stud back. The slotted stud section then converts
the conventional metal stud to a slotted stud with the section 40
adapted to fit in a channel beam.
* * * * *