U.S. patent application number 10/179432 was filed with the patent office on 2003-12-25 for joint reinforcement.
Invention is credited to Catani, Mario J., Getz, Stephen H., Mongole, Larry, Robinson, Roy, Smith, Michael.
Application Number | 20030233804 10/179432 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29734898 |
Filed Date | 2003-12-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030233804 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Getz, Stephen H. ; et
al. |
December 25, 2003 |
Joint reinforcement
Abstract
A joint reinforcement having eye sections is manufactured using
an inline process with concurrent assembly of the eye sections.
Concurrent assembly of the eye sections provides more efficient
manufacturing and the resulting joint reinforcement is less
expensive to manufacture then conventional joint reinforcements.
The joint reinforcement also can be manufactured to have uniform
thickness for more efficient transport.
Inventors: |
Getz, Stephen H.; (Michigan
City, IN) ; Smith, Michael; (Aurora, IL) ;
Robinson, Roy; (Flossmoor, IL) ; Mongole, Larry;
(Cumming, GA) ; Catani, Mario J.; (Loudon,
TN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
JENNER & BLOCK, LLC
ONE IBM PLAZA
CHICAGO
IL
60611
US
|
Family ID: |
29734898 |
Appl. No.: |
10/179432 |
Filed: |
June 25, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/698 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04B 1/4178
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
52/698 |
International
Class: |
E04B 001/38 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for making a joint reinforcement having eye sections,
comprising the steps of: providing a first side rod moveable in an
axial direction; providing a second side rod moveable in the axial
direction and substantially parallel to the first side rod;
providing a means for interconnecting the first and second side
rods; feeding at least one eye section adjacent to the first side
rod; and attaching the at least one eye section to the first side
rod concurrently with the interconnecting means being attached to
the first and second side rods.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of providing a means for
interconnecting the first and second side rods comprises the step
of interconnecting the first and second side rods with at least one
cross rod attached perpendicular to the first and second side
rods.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of providing a means for
interconnecting the first and second side rods comprises the step
of interconnecting the first and second side rod with at least one
cross rod attached at an angle of less than 90.degree. with one of
said first and second side rods.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein said attaching step comprises the
step of attaching the at least one eye section to the first side
rod in a direction perpendicular to the first side rod.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein said attaching step comprises the
step of welding the at least one eye section to the first side
rod.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein said attaching step comprises the
step of lap welding the at least one eye section to the first side
rod.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein said attaching step comprises the
step of butt welding the at least one eye section to the first side
rod.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein said attaching step comprises the
step of attaching at least one eye section that has only one
eye.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein said attaching step comprises the
step of attaching at least one eye section that has only one
eye.
10. A method for making a joint reinforcement having eye sections,
comprising the steps of: providing a first side rod moveable in an
axial direction; providing a second side rod moveable in the axial
direction and substantially parallel to the first side rod;
providing a means for interconnecting the first and second side
rods; feeding at least one eye section adjacent to the first side
rod; and butt welding the at least one eye section to the first
side rod.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein said step of feeding at least
one eye section adjacent to the first side rod comprises the step
of feeding at least one eye section that has only one eye.
12. A method for making a joint reinforcement having eye sections,
comprising the steps of: providing a first side rod moveable in an
axial direction; providing a second side rod moveable in the axial
direction and substantially parallel to the first side rod;
providing a means for interconnecting the first and second side
rods; feeding at least one eye section having only one eye adjacent
to the first side rod; and attaching the at least one eye section
to the first side rod.
13. An apparatus, comprising: a first side rod; a second side rod
substantially parallel to said first side rod; at least one member
interconnecting said first and second side rods; at least one eye
section, having only one eye, attached to said first side rod.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said at least one
interconnecting member is a cross rod attached perpendicular to
said first and second side rods.
15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said at least one
interconnecting member is a cross rod attached at an angle of less
than 90.degree. with one of said first and second side rods.
16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said at least one eye section
is coplanar with said first and second side rods.
17. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said at least one eye section
is welded to said first side rod.
18. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said at least one eye section
is butt welded to said first side rod.
19. An apparatus, comprising: a first side rod; a second side rod
substantially parallel to said first side rod; at least one member
interconnecting said first and second side rods; and at least one
eye section butt welded to said first side rod.
20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said at least one eye section
has only one eye.
21. A method for making a joint reinforcement having eye sections,
comprising the steps of: providing a first side rod moveable in an
axial direction; providing a second side rod moveable in the axial
direction and substantially parallel to the first side rod;
providing a means for interconnecting the first and second side
rods; feeding at least two eye sections, at least one of which is
fed adjacent to the first side rod and at least one of which is fed
adjacent to the second side rod; and attaching the at least two eye
sections by attaching at least one eye section to the first side
rod and attaching at least one eye section to the second side rod
concurrently with the interconnecting means being attached to the
first and second side rods.
22. An apparatus, comprising: a first side rod; a second side rod
substantially parallel to said first side rod; at least one member
interconnecting said first and second side rods; at least two eye
sections, each having only one eye, at least one of said eye
sections being attached to said first side rod and at least one of
said eye sections being attached to said second side rod.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a joint reinforcement, and
more particularly, to a joint reinforcement having an improved
structure and method of manufacture that allows the eye sections to
be welded in line.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Joint reinforcements are used to strengthen and stabilize
walls constructed using masonry units. Joint reinforcements
typically are either of a ladder type or a truss type. The ladder
type joint reinforcement typically includes a pair of side rods
having perpendicular cross rods that connect the two side rods. The
truss type joint reinforcement has angled cross rods forming a
zigzag pattern to connect the two side rods. The builder places the
joint reinforcements between various courses in the masonry wall as
dictated by the particular application and code requirements.
[0005] Sometimes, for example in multiwythe walls, joint
reinforcements placed in the backup wythe also include eye sections
to receive and hold pintle sections attached to an exterior wythe.
FIG. 1 depicts such a conventional prior art joint reinforcement.
Prior art joint reinforcement 10 includes a pair of side rods 12a,b
and cross rods 14. Joint reinforcement 10 also includes eye
sections 16a,b. Joint reinforcement 10 can be placed between
courses in a backup wythe. Pintle sections are embedded in an
exterior wythe placed in proximity to the backup wythe. The pintle
sections extend away from the exterior wythe and then downwardly to
protrude through eyes 17a,b of eye sections 16a,b to add strength
and stability to the wythes.
[0006] Joint reinforcement 10 is manufactured by first using an
inline process to manufacture side rods 12a,b and connecting cross
rods 14. Cross rods 14 are electric resistance welded to side rods
12a,b. Subsequently, independently assembled eye sections 16a,b are
overlaid and welded onto side rod 12a. Each eye section 16a,b is
manufactured as an integrated unit with two eyes 17a,b, which
requires material joining eye 17a to eye 17b. This is done so that
eyes 17a and 17b can be readily spaced at the proper distance from
one another to receive the pintle sections. Proper placement and
welding of eye sections 16a,b is a time-consuming and
labor-intensive process. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, welding eye
sections 16a,b onto side rod 12a in this manner causes the side of
joint reinforcement 10 with side rod 12a to be thicker than the
side with side rod 12b. This makes the joint reinforcement
difficult to position within a specified thickness of mortar joint
and also limits the eye section to thin wire assemblies.
Additionally, it makes stacking joint reinforcements 10 for
transport difficult. Although flipping half of joint reinforcements
10 in the stack 180.degree. allows for even stacking, this process
is time consuming. Also, the extra thickness created by welding eye
sections 16a,b onto side rod 12a limits the quantity of joint
reinforcements 10 that can be stored in a given volume.
[0007] Thus, it would be desirable to have a process for
manufacturing joint reinforcements, such as ladder and truss joint
reinforcements, that connected eye sections in a more efficient
manner, used less material for cost and weight savings, and
resulted in joint reinforcements that could be readily stacked
without alternating orientation, could be more densely stacked into
a given volume of space, have greater application, and provide the
installer a more productive product for usage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention comprises an improved joint
reinforcement and method of manufacture. The joint reinforcement is
manufactured using an inline process to manufacture a pair of side
rods and at least one cross rod, or other means to interconnect the
pair of side rods. Eye sections are manufactured and attached
concurrently with the cross rods. The eye sections can be welded in
any fashion to the side rod. The present invention results in a
more efficient assembly of eye sections, a decrease in material
used, yielding cost and weight savings, and an improved joint
reinforcement that can be more densely stacked into a given volume,
has enhanced application, provides optimal fit into a mortared
joint and increases the productivity of the user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art joint
reinforcement;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a
joint reinforcement made in accordance with the present invention;
and
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a
joint reinforcement made in accordance with the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0012] Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a joint reinforcement 40
made in accordance with a first embodiment of the present
invention. FIG. 2 shows a ladder type joint reinforcement, but the
described embodiment is also applicable to truss type joint
reinforcements or any other type of joint reinforcement. Joint
reinforcement 40 includes a pair of side rods 42a,b and one or more
cross rods 44, or any other appropriate means of connecting side
rods 42a and 42b. Joint reinforcement 40 also includes one or more
eye sections 46a-d for receiving pintle sections in eyes 47a-d. In
joint reinforcement 40, each eye section 46a-d has only one
corresponding eye 47a-d. Thus, there is no material connecting eye
section 46a to eye section 46b or connecting eye section 46c to eye
section 46d. Although two pairs of eye sections 46a-d are shown in
FIG. 2, joint reinforcement 40 can include any appropriate number
of eye sections positioned at suitable locations, for example to
accommodate the desired number, type and location of pintle
sections. Furthermore, although FIG. 2 shows eye sections 46a-d
positioned on either side of cross rods 44, eye sections 46a-d can
be positioned at any location along either side rod 42a,b or both
side rods 42a,b.
[0013] Joint reinforcement 40 is manufactured by using an inline
process to manufacture side rods 42a,b and cross rods 44. Eye
sections 46a-d are manufactured concurrently with cross rods 44 by
simultaneously feeding and cutting material for both cross rods 44
and eye sections 46a-d. A free end of eye section 46a-d is bent
into a loop to form eye 47a-d, respectively. Cross rods 44 and eye
sections 46a-d are simultaneously attached, for example, by
electronic resistance welding or any other type of welding, onto
side rod 42a. Eye sections 46a-d may be lap welded or welded in any
other fashion. The attachment occurs at a welding station having at
least one point of contact. The welding station may, for example,
have 4 points of contact--two for the ends of cross rod 44, one for
eye section 46a and one for eye section 46b. Alternatively, the
welding station may have any number of points of contact
appropriate for a given application. There can be one such welding
station or many, depending on the user's requirements.
[0014] This method of manufacturing joint reinforcement 40 is more
efficient than conventional methods, because no secondary assembly
is required. The production and welding of eye sections 46a-d
concurrently to the production and welding of cross rods 44 saves
time and money over conventional manufacturing methods. Joint
reinforcement 40 also provides savings in terms of material because
eye sections 46a-d require less material than conventional eye
sections, such as eye sections 16a,b, for joint reinforcements. In
particular, conventional eye sections 16a,b each have two
corresponding eyes 17a,b and require material to connect the eyes.
Eye sections 46a-d of the present invention have only one eye
47a-d, and therefore do not include material to connect eye section
46a to eye section 46b or to connect eye section 46c to eye section
46d.
[0015] Now referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a joint
reinforcement 60 made in accordance with a second embodiment of the
present invention. FIG. 3 shows a ladder type joint reinforcement,
but the described embodiment is also applicable to truss type joint
reinforcements or any other type of joint reinforcement. Joint
reinforcement 60 includes a pair of side rods 62a,b and one or more
cross rods 64, or other appropriate means of connecting side rods
62a,b. Joint reinforcement 60 includes one or more eye sections
66a-d for receiving pintle sections in eyes 67a-d. Although two
pairs of eye sections 66a-d are shown in FIG. 3, joint
reinforcement 60 can include any appropriate number of eye sections
positioned at suitable locations to accommodate the desired number,
type and location of pintle sections. Furthermore, although FIG. 3
shows eye sections 66a-d positioned on either side of cross rods
64, eye sections 66a-d can be positioned at any location along
either side rod 62a,b or both side rods 62a,b.
[0016] Joint reinforcement 60 is manufactured in a similar manner
to joint reinforcement 40 of FIG. 2. However, eye sections 66a-d of
joint reinforcement 60 are butt welded to side rod 62a. This yields
the advantage that joint reinforcement 60 has an essentially
uniform thickness, unlike conventional joint reinforcement 10 of
FIG. 1 or joint reinforcement 40 of FIG. 2. This provides a more
efficient usage of the product due to a better fit within a
specified confined mortar joint thickness. The process also allows
for a thicker side rod width to be used. Use of a thicker side rod
provides a greater area of steel in the wall, therefore making the
product more applicable for optimal structural conditions.
Additionally, when a plurality of joint reinforcements 60 have to
be transported to a job site, they can be readily stacked without
having to alternate the orientation of various joint reinforcements
60. Moreover, the lesser thickness of joint reinforcement 60 allows
more joint reinforcements 60 to be stored in a given volume of
space. This yields additional cost savings in transporting joint
reinforcements 60.
[0017] Thus, there has been described a method for manufacturing
joint reinforcements that attaches eye sections in a more efficient
manner and requires less material to be used to manufacture the eye
sections. This method creates a product with greater utility and
efficient installation. Joint reinforcements manufactured in
accordance with the present invention also can be readily stacked
for transport and stacked more densely than conventional joint
reinforcements.
[0018] Whereas the present invention has been described with
respect to specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that
various changes and modifications will be suggested to one skilled
in the art and it is intended that the invention encompass such
changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended
claims.
* * * * *