U.S. patent application number 10/963368 was filed with the patent office on 2006-04-13 for method for assembling structural components and related attachment apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to W.A. Krapf, Inc.. Invention is credited to Wallace A. Krapf, Daniel W. Rossborough.
Application Number | 20060075709 10/963368 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36143874 |
Filed Date | 2006-04-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060075709 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Krapf; Wallace A. ; et
al. |
April 13, 2006 |
Method for assembling structural components and related attachment
apparatus
Abstract
A manufacturing assembly includes a frame that is formed by at
least one first structural component secured to one end of at least
one box beam. A first attachment plate is attached to the first
structural component, the attachment plate having a plurality of
tongues while a second attachment plate is attached to the end of
the at least one box beam. The second attachment plate includes a
plurality of grooves for receiving the tongues of the first
attachment plate so as to permit locking interconnection
therebetween.
Inventors: |
Krapf; Wallace A.; (Macedon,
NY) ; Rossborough; Daniel W.; (Victor, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WALL MARJAMA & BILINSKI
101 SOUTH SALINA STREET
SUITE 400
SYRACUSE
NY
13202
US
|
Assignee: |
W.A. Krapf, Inc.
Macedon
NY
|
Family ID: |
36143874 |
Appl. No.: |
10/963368 |
Filed: |
October 12, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/481.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09F 15/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
052/481.2 |
International
Class: |
E04C 2/34 20060101
E04C002/34 |
Claims
1. A freestanding display comprising: a frame formed by a pair of
vertically disposed legs secured to opposing ends of at least one
horizontally disposed box beam member, a first attachment plate
secured to the exterior of one of said vertically disposed legs,
said first attachment plate including a plurality of tongues, and a
second attachment plate secured to an open end of said at least one
box beam member, said second attachment plate including a plurality
of grooves for receiving said tongues of said first attachment
plate to provide interconnection therebetween.
2. A display as recited in claim 1, wherein said attachment plates
are secured to said at least one box beam member and said at least
one leg by means of fasteners.
3. A display as recited in claim 2, wherein each of said attachment
plates include slots for receiving the heads of the fasteners of an
opposing attachment plate, enabling said plates to be placed in
intimate contact with one another.
4. A display as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of said
first and second attachment plates comprises multiple
interconnecting planar sections.
5. A display as recited in claim 1, including means for securing
said first and second attachment plates together once a tongue and
groove engagement has been enabled.
6. A display as recited in claim 5, wherein said first and second
attachment plates include a series of holes adjacent an edge
thereof for receiving fasteners to secure said first and second
attachment plates after said tongue and groove connection has been
enabled.
7. A display as recited in claim 6, wherein said fasteners securing
said first and second attachment plates are further engaged with
one of said at least one box beam member and said at least one
leg.
8. A manufacturing assembly comprising: a pair of attachment plates
for use in interconnecting at least two structural components, said
pair of attachment plates comprising: a first attachment plate and
a second attachment plate, each of said plates having means for
securing said plate to a structural component of a manufacturing
assembly, wherein one of said attachment plates includes a
plurality of tongues for engaging a corresponding number of grooves
provided in the other of said attachment plates to provide
interconnection when each of said plates are first secured to
corresponding structural components.
9. A manufacturing assembly as recited in claim 8, wherein said
means for securing said attachment plates includes fasteners
attached through holes provided in said plate to a said structural
component, said attachment plates further including means for
receiving the heads of fasteners of an opposing attachment plate to
permit intimate contact therebetween.
10. A manufacturing assembly as recited in claim 8, including means
for securing said first and said second attachment plates together
once a tongue and groove interconnection has been enabled.
11. A manufacturing assembly as recited in claim 8, wherein at
least one of said first and second attachment plates is made from
at least two interconnecting planar members.
12. A manufacturing assembly as recited in claim 8, wherein said
structural components are assembled orthogonally to one another in
said manufacturing assembly.
13. A method for assembling structural components, the method
including the steps of: securing a first attachment plate to a
first structural component, said first attachment plate including a
plurality of tongues; securing a second attachment plate to a
second structural component, said second attachment plate including
a plurality of grooves; aligning the grooves of said second
attachment plate with the tongues of said first attachment plate
and sliding said tongues into the grooves to provide an
interconnecting fit therebetween.
14. A method as recited in claim 13, including the additional step
of securing said first and said second attachment plates together
once said tongues have engaged the grooves.
15. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein said structural
components are box beams.
16. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein said structural
components are orthogonally oriented relative to one another.
17. A method as recited in claim 13, wherein said securing steps
include the additional steps of: using fasteners to secure said
first attachment plate to said first structural component; using
fasteners to secure said second attachment plate to said second
structural component; aligning the heads of the fasteners with
slots provided on each of the opposing attachment plates to permit
said plates to be placed in intimate contact.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to the field of manufacturing
assemblies, and in particular to an improved manufacturing assembly
for interconnecting orthogonally or other arranged structural
components, such as those used as part of a freestanding
display.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] There are known manufacturing assemblies as described, for
example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,448 such as a freestanding display
that includes the interconnection of a plurality of structural
components. More particularly, this display includes a first
structural component in the form of a pair of vertical support legs
and a second structural component in the form of a horizontal
support beam that is used to retain a number of sliding panels for
use in scheduling or calendaring boards such as found on large
assembly shop floors.
[0003] The above noted '448 patent has improved the design of the
structural components to aid in reducing the weight of the overall
assembly by an improved box beam construction without materially
degrading the structural capability of the components to support
the sliding panels.
[0004] However, the assembly of the horizontal support beams to
each of the orthogonally arranged vertical support legs is somewhat
cumbersome in that a number of fasteners must be attached through
the exterior facing side of the legs and aligned to be fitted
within small defined slots that are formed in the end of the box
beam. This assembly is very time consuming and is not aesthetically
pleasing given the appearance of the exterior fasteners and a
heightened need for part tolerancing in order to permit the
fasteners to adequately secure the structural components
together.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
avoid the above-noted deficiencies of the prior art.
[0006] It is another primary object of the present invention to
provide a manufacturing assembly that improves the assembly time
between at least two orthogonally oriented structural components of
a manufacturing assembly, such as those provided for a freestanding
display, such as those utilizing scheduling and/or calendaring
boards.
[0007] It is yet another primary object of the present invention to
provide a simplified technique for interconnecting structural
components of manufacturing assemblies, such as those that are
noted above.
[0008] Therefore and according to a preferred aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a freestanding display comprising a
frame formed by a pair of vertically disposed legs secured to
opposing ends of at least one box beam, a first attachment plate
attached to the exterior of one of said legs, said first attachment
plate including a plurality of tongues, and a second attachment
plate attached to an open end of said at least one box beam having
a corresponding plurality of grooves for engaging with the tongues
of said first attachment plate for securing said structural
components together. Preferably, the tongues include engagement
portions that fit into the grooves to permit locking
interconnection without sophisticated alignment techniques.
[0009] According to another preferred version of the present
invention, there is provided a pair of attachment plates for use in
interconnecting a pair of structural components, said pair of
attachment plates comprising a first attachment plate and a second
attachment plate, said first attachment plate having a plurality of
tongues for engaging a corresponding number of grooves provided in
the other of said attachment plates to provide interconnection when
each of said plates are first attached to a corresponding
structural component.
[0010] According to yet another preferred aspect of the present
invention, there is provided a method for assembling structural
components, the method including the steps of securing a first
attachment plate to a first structural component, said first
attachment plate including a plurality of tongues; securing a
second attachment plate to a second structural component, said
second attachment plate including a plurality of grooves; and
aligning the grooves of said second attachment plate with the
tongues of said first attachment plate and sliding said tongues
into the grooves to provide an interconnecting fit
therebetween.
[0011] Preferably, the attachment plates can be secured to the
structural components using fasteners wherein the plates include
slotted areas in order to receive the heads of the fasteners used
to secure the opposing attachment plate permitting intimate contact
therebetween.
[0012] The attachment plates can be made from a single planar
member or can be constructed from interconnecting members to permit
versatility in use, depending, for example, on the size of the
manufacturing assembly.
[0013] An advantage of the present invention is that assembly time
is improved between structural components, such as those described
above.
[0014] Another advantage of the present invention is that the
herein described assembly technique is simpler than any previously
known technique, requiring literally no training.
[0015] In addition, there is no longer a need for access holes on
the outside (exterior) surface of the assembly, providing a cleaner
more aesthetic look to the finished assembled product.
[0016] These and other objects, features and advantages will become
readily apparent from the following Detailed Description which
should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The objects and features of the invention can be better
understood with reference to the drawings described below, and the
claims. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead
generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the
invention. In the drawings, like numerals are used to indicate like
parts throughout the various views.
[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a known freestanding
display;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a cross-section of a first version of a known
structural beam component of the freestanding display of FIG. 1, as
taken through lines 2-2;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a partial assembly of a portion of the
freestanding display of FIG. 1, according to a prior art
method;
[0021] FIG. 4(a) is a side perspective view illustrating the
interconnection of a portion of the freestanding display of FIG. 1
using another version of a structural beam component;
[0022] FIG. 4(b) is an enlarged view of the end of the structural
beam component of FIG. 4(a);
[0023] FIG. 5 is a partially exploded perspective view of a partial
assembly of the freestanding display of FIG. 1 made in accordance
with a preferred aspect of the present invention;
[0024] FIGS. 6-8 are side views, partially in section, illustrating
the interconnection of structural beam components of the assembly
of FIGS. 5 and 6;
[0025] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an attachment plate used for
the manufacturing assembly of FIGS. 5-8; and
[0026] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another attachment plate
used for the manufacturing assembly of FIGS. 5-8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] The following description relates to a preferred
manufacturing assembly for an existing freestanding display, and
more particularly between at least one horizontal beam member and a
vertical support leg of the display. It will be readily apparent to
one of sufficient skill in the field, however, that the following
method and apparatus can be applied to numerous other manufacturing
assemblies that include the interconnection of at least two
structural components. In addition and throughout the discussion
that follows, a number of terms are used in order to provide a
suitable frame of reference for the accompanying drawings,
including "horizontal", "vertical", "width", "height", "top",
"bottom", "lateral", "side", and the like. It will be readily
apparent, however, that such terms should not be viewed as overly
limiting of the present invention, except where so specifically
indicated.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 1, a freestanding display 10 is shown
having a support frame 12 for supporting sliding display boards 14
and 16, respectively. Each display board 14 and 16 includes a
handle 18 and 20, respectively, for facilitating movement of the
boards relative to the support frame 12 and to each other. The
freestanding display 10 could also only have a single board in a
fixed position or alternatively include a plurality of display
boards (e.g., four or more). Support frame 12 includes a pair of
upstanding legs 22 and 24 respectively, which are preferably, but
not necessarily, of box beam construction. Joined substantially
perpendicularly to and between legs 22 and 24 are a bottom
horizontal beam 26 and a top horizontal beam 28. Legs 22, 26 and
beams 26, 28 are all preferably formed by composite beam
construction.
[0029] Using horizontal beam 26 as exemplary, this beam as a
composite uses a first channel section 30 and a second channel
section 32, each of the sections being substantially "V-shaped" in
cross-section. Channel sections 30, 32 are joined by a central
section 34.
[0030] While it is important that the bottom horizontal beam 26 and
the top horizontal beam 28 of the herein described freestanding
display 10 be formed of composite construction to provide adequate
strength over extended spans, composite construction of legs 22, 24
is not necessary provided that the overall width of the legs remain
at the least equal to or greater than the width of the top and
bottom horizontal beams. The height of the legs 22, 26 generally
ranges between about six and eight feet, therefore, there is less
concern of axial deflection of these beams as compared to the top
and bottom horizontal beams 26, 28. However, it should be noted
that as the span of the beams 26, 28 increases, the weight
supported by each of the legs 22, 24 increases. Therefore, the use
of a composite design, such as top and bottom beams 26, 28 is
desirable.
[0031] A cross-section of the bottom beam 26 is provided in FIG. 2.
First channel section 30 is shown having a top wall 36, a bottom
wall 38 and an end wall 40. Likewise, second channel section 32
includes a top wall 64, a bottom wall 66 and an end wall 68. Each
of the top wall 36 and bottom wall 38 include respective grooves
42, 44.
[0032] Grooves 42, 44 are substantially indented, groove 44
including a wall 46 that extends perpendicularly to the bottom wall
38 and inwardly into the channel section to about 0.23 inches. A
wall 48 extends perpendicularly to wall 46 outwardly from channel
section 30 a distance of about 0.25 inches. A wall 50 joins wall 48
at an angle of about 45.degree. thereto and extends parallel in the
opposite direction of wall 46, a distance of 3/16'' and terminates
with a perpendicular hook section 54 which extends perpendicularly
therefrom toward the wall 46, forming the groove 44 and leaving an
opening 58. A nub 60 is formed on the interim side of the wall 50.
A V-shaped channel 62 is formed within a chamber 56 between nub 60
and the hook 54. 100331 The top and bottom walls 64, 66,
respectively, include substantially identified tongue sections 69,
70. The tongue sections 69, 70 are compatible with and slide into
the grooves 42, 44, respectively.
[0033] Still referring to FIG. 2, the central section 34 includes
top and bottom plates 82, 84, respectively. Each of the plates 82,
84 includes a tongue section 86 as one end and a groove section at
a remaining end. The central section 34 includes a cell of
corrugated honeycombed reinforcing material 90 extending between
the top plate 82 and the bottom plate 84. The preferred corrugated
honeycombed reinforcing material 90 is preferably formed of kraft
paper, such as that commonly found in cardboard boxes. This
honeycomb cell extends from and is fixed against movement relative
to the plates 82, 84, thereby providing a rigid though lightweight
central section. Preferably, the honeycomb material 90 is covered
by thick paper or cardboard 92 on its faces extending between the
corrugated material and the top and bottom plates 82, 84, and is
securely jointed to the top and bottom plates by a suitable
adhesive, such as a wet or contact adhesive that adheres the paper
92 to the plates 82, 84.
[0034] The tongue section 70 includes an "I"-shaped section having
a pair of bars 72, 74 which extend in a direction which is parallel
to that of the bottom wall 66, each of bars 72, 74 being connected
by a bar 76. Bars 72, 74 together with bar 76 combine to form a
pair of "V"-shaped channels 78, 80. Channel 80 combines with
channel 62 of the groove 44 to form a rectangular open box 81, as
shown in FIG. 2, wherein a plurality of said open boxes are
formed.
[0035] Additional details relating to the manufacture of the
composite beam and the freestanding display 10 are described in
greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,448, the entire contents of
which are herein incorporated by reference.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 3, a prior art technique of attaching one
end of the bottom beam 26 to the vertical supporting leg 22 of the
manufacturing assembly is shown. It will be readily apparent from
the discussion that the opposite end of the beam 26 similarly
interconnects with the leg 24 and that the top beam 28 is also
similarly attached to each of the legs 22, 24.
[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of the connection of leg
22 and bottom beam 26 which are joined by four (4) fastening screws
110 which pass through holes 110 in the leg 22 and join with the
rectangular boxes 81 as previously described with respect to FIG.
2. Additional details are provided in the previously
cross-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,448. This technique requires
extensive time and setup to complete in order to effectively align
the rectangular boxes 81 with the fastener holes 110.
[0038] An alternative composite beam design is herein briefly
described with reference to FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b). A pair of beams
96, 98 that are representative of the vertical leg and the bottom
of the previously described freestanding display, respectively, is
shown in FIG. 4(a). Each of the beams 96, 98, according to this
alternative design, commonly include a pair of central sections
100, 101 in lieu of the single central section that was previously
defined in the preceding embodiment. In order to maintain the same
size in terms of the overall dimensions of the box beam, a pair of
smaller (e.g., thinner) end channel sections 102, 104 are employed
about the central sections 100, 101 that are sandwiched
therebetween. In this manner, a larger (e.g., wider) cardboard
paper cell 106 is utilized to fill in the central sections 100, 101
for each beam 96, 98, providing greater strength. Employment of
this structural component design for the beams 96, 98 further
includes a plurality of rectangular boxes 105 that are formed at
the ends thereof in the same manner as the preceding beam design
due to the interconnection of the preceding channel sections 100,
101, 102, 104 into a single member. Due to the addition of an
additional central section and the smaller width of the end channel
sections 102, 104, however, two (2) additional rectangular boxes
105 are provided and therefore six rectangular boxes in total, each
of the boxes providing means for receiving a fastener as previously
described. Four (4) of the rectangular boxes 105 of the herein
described beam design are provided adjacent the outer portions of
each beam while the remaining two (2) rectangular boxes 105 are
more or less defined at the center of each beam, at the top and
bottom thereof.
[0039] Turning to FIG. 5 and with the preceding background of an
overall freestanding display, there is depicted an improved
manufacturing assembly between a top or bottom horizontal beam and
a vertical support leg of the display. As noted and for purposes of
this discussion, beam members 96, 98, such as those shown in FIGS.
4(a) and 4(b), are utilized for purposes of this embodiment.
[0040] As noted above, the essentials of the composite beam design
are unchanged, the beams 96, 98 each including a pair of end
channel portions 102, 104 that are built around a pair of central
portions 100, 101 having disposed therein a substantially wide cell
of honeycomb reinforcing material 106.
[0041] Referring to FIGS. 4(a)-10 it should be noted that exterior
mounted fasteners, as previously shown in FIG. 3, are not used to
interconnect the two structural components 96, 98. The preceding,
as previously noted, is difficult to align with the horizontally
disposed beam 98, on attachment thereof, and require fairly precise
tolerancing. Therefore, the improved manufacturing assembly
includes a pair of attachment plates; namely, a first attachment
plate 120 and a second attachment plate 124, that are attached to a
lateral interfacing portion of the vertical support leg 98 and to
the open box end 99 of the horizontally disposed bottom beam 96,
respectively.
[0042] Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10 specifically, each of the first
and second attachment plates 120, 124 are now described in greater
detail. Preferably, each attachment plate is preferably made from
cold rolled steel and is a single planar member or can be multiple
interconnecting members, each having a thickness of about 0.090
inches. What is meant by the preceding is that each of the
attachment plates 120, 124 can be made from a single planar section
or can be built in interlocking planar sections, as is shown in
FIGS. 9 and 10, in order to accommodate different widths and
facilitate manufacturing. For purposes of the discussion that
follows, however, each of the plates 120, 124 shall be considered
as unitary for the sake of better describing their engagement
features. In addition, each of the plates includes a width
dimension that extends horizontally according to this embodiment
and a height dimension that extends vertically.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 10, the first attachment plate 120
includes a predetermined number of tongues 128, in this embodiment,
four (4) tongues are used, each of which extend outwardly from a
facing side 132 of the attachment plate. Each of the tongues 128 is
defined by an outwardly extending tab portion 136 that terminates
in a substantially vertical engagement hook portion 140. In
addition to the tongues 128, there are included a plurality of
slotted areas 144, 148. According to this embodiment, three (3)
slotted areas 144 are disposed in an upper horizontal row along
with two of the tongues 128 while three other slotted areas 148 are
disposed in a second parallel lower horizontal row along with the
remaining tongues 128. A first series of three (3) fastener holes
152 are provided in a horizontal row adjacent a top edge 156 of the
first attachment plate 120. A second parallel series of three (3)
fastener holes 153 are provided in a horizontal row defined between
the upper and lower horizontal rows having the slotted areas 144
and 148 and tongues 128, respectively. Each of the fastener holes
152, 153 are aligned in vertical rows with the slotted areas 144
and 148 along the height dimension of the plate. Each of the
tongues 128 are spaced in relation to one another along the width
dimension of the attachment plate 124, the tongues being preferably
arranged within the upper and lower horizontal rows between
adjacent slotted areas.
[0044] The second attachment plate 124, shown in FIG. 9, includes a
first pair of grooves 160, 162 arranged in respective upper and
lower horizontal rows, each of the grooves being sized for
receiving the tongues 128 of the first attachment plate 120. The
second attachment plate 124 further includes three (3) additional
slotted areas 164 that are defined within a horizontal row defined
between the upper and lower horizontal rows with the grooves 160,
162 being spaced between the slotted areas along the width
dimension of the plate 124. Additionally, the second attachment
plate 124 includes three (3) horizontal rows containing three (3)
fastener holes each, 157, 158, 159, respectively, wherein the rows
are defined along a top edge of the plate, along a bottom edge of
the plate and intermediate between the top edge row and the slotted
areas 164. Each of the holes 157, 158, 159 is equally spaced from
one another such that three fastener holes from each of the
preceding three rows and a slotted area 164 are in successive
vertical rows relative to one another. The lower row of grooves
162, according to this embodiment, is formed along a bottom edge of
the attachment plate 124, with each of the two grooves being
open-ended in the form of a notch. Similarly, the slotted areas 148
of the first attachment plate 120 are also open-ended, as notches
adjacent the bottom edge 155 of the plate.
[0045] Initially, the second attachment plate 124 is secured to the
open end 99 of the box beam 96, with fasteners 170 being added to
each of the holes 158 and 159 that are aligned with the six (6)
rectangular boxes 105, shown in FIG. 4(b). The first attachment
plate 12 is similarly secured to the vertical support leg 96 using
fasteners 172 that are attached through holes 153.
[0046] As shown in FIGS. 6-8, and once the first and second
attachment plates 120, 124 are initially secured to the vertical
leg 98 and the beam 96, respectively, the structural components are
brought into engagement with one another. The vertical engagement
hook portions 140 of the tongues 128 of the first attachment plate
120 are aligned with and then fitted into the matched grooves 160,
162 of the second attachment plate 124, thereby providing locking
interconnection between the two structural components 96, 98.
[0047] The slotted areas 144, 148, 164, provided in each of the
first and second attachment plates 120, 124, permit the use of
suitable fasteners 170, 172 that are used to initially secure the
attachment plates to the open end 99 of the beam 96 and to the leg
98, respectively. The heads of the fasteners 172 used to secure the
first attachment plate 120 to the leg 98 are retained within the
slotted areas 164 that are provided in the second attachment plate
124. Likewise, the heads of the fasteners 170 used to secure the
second attachment plate 124 to the open end of the beam 96 are
retained within the slotted areas 144, 148 provided in the first
attachment plate 120. This retention of the fastener heads by each
opposing attachment plate 120, 124 permits the plates to be brought
directly into contact with one another so as to permit the hook
portions 140 of the tongues 128 to fully engage within the grooves
160, 162.
[0048] Following the engagement between the respective tongue and
groove portions of the first and second attachment plates 120, 124,
a set of threaded fasteners 176 are secured into the holes 152, 157
provided in the upper row of the first and second attachment
plates, respectively, and extending above the connected structural
components. The above holes extend into the vertical support leg
98, thereby finally securing the completed manufacturing assembly.
As noted previously, the top beam of the manufacturing assembly
and/or other portions of the herein described freestanding display
can be interconnected together in a similar manner.
* * * * *