Magnetic Wall Stud

Abstract

A stud for magnetically supporting walls, each stud having a pair of oppositely disposed support surfaces. Each surface has at least one longitudinal channel therein for holding a magnetic material. Elongated metal strips are secured to the wallboards, which in turn are disposed on either side of the channeled surfaces and held there against by the magnetic force being exerted on the strips.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern building techniques frequently employ portable walls for use in office buildings and the like, thereby creating a demand for more efficient means for supporting such walls. Generally metal studs are extended between the floor and ceiling area where the wall is to be erected and braced at their upper and lower extremities. The wallboard is then permanently affixed to the studs by a suitable fastening means. Finally the wallboard is finished with the appropriate covering and a base is provided about the lower edges thereof. While this procedure produces a wall which can be removed without permanently damaging the building structure, the wall itself is not truly movable as it is destroyed by disassembly through the use of these permanent securing means.

Attempts to solve this problem have been made using permanent magnets. Such proposals calls for securing permanent magnets to the wallboard which in turn hold the wallboard to the studs through magnetic force. However, such attempts have proved unsatisfactory due to the high cost of magnet installation on the job, the propensity for the magnets which protrude from the boards to be inadvertently knocked therefrom during storage and installation and the inability to compactly stack the boards with the magnets attached thereto. In addition, such proposals have not adequately utilized the potential of permanent magnets and therefore must offset this loss through the use of larger magnets to obtain a strong holding force.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly the invention comprises a metal stud which on oppositely disposed sides thereof holds a magnetic strip within one or more longitudinal open channels. Corresponding metal strips are secured to the wallboards which in turn are supported on each side of the stud by the magnetic force exerted on the strips. In this manner, a plurality of such studs support a common wall between two rooms.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a stud for supporting a wall which allows for removal of the wall without permanent damage thereto.

It is another object of this invention to provide a stud for magnetically supporting a wall thereto which is superior to such studs heretofore available.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a stud for magnetically supporting a wall thereto which is of simple construction and economical to manufacture.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a stud for magnetically supporting a wall thereto which reduces labor costs through through the elimination of field set up time.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

IN THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of a portion of a wall supported by the magnetic studs of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the wall and one of the studs.

FIG. 3 is a sectional plan view showing the wall and two embodiments of the magnetic stud.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a third embodiment of the magnetic stud.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the primary embodiment of the magnetic stud 10 is shown in FIG. 3. The C stud shown therein is constructed of a magnetic material and has two oppositely disposed support surfaces 12 and 14. Each support surface has a pair of longitudinally disposed open channels 16 therein which extend the length of the stud and are adapted to house elongated permanent magnets 18 therein. The third side 20 or web of the stud also defines open channels 22. Channels 22 increase the flexibility of the stud by allowing it to be positioned at a corner and support both the perpendicular walls meeting at that corner. In addition when used along a single wall, such channels strengthen the web and stud.

The elongated permanent magnets 18 are of a rubber bonded permanent magnet material and preferably, a rubber bonded barium ferrite composition material such as that sold under the trademark Plastiform by the 3-M Company. Such materials have magnetic properties equal to those displayed by isotropic barium ferrite sintered magnets, yet unlike the latter, they are neither hard nor brittle and are very light in weight and easy to work with. When the magnets 18 are placed within channels 16 an air gap 24 is seen to exist which extends between the vertical plains defined by the support surfaces 12 and 14 and the extended surfaces of the magnets, while the sides of the magnets 18 abutt side portions 17 of channels 16. Such a disposition of the magnets within the channels causes the pole pieces of each magnet to be defined by a portion of the support surfaces, thereby increasing the effective area through which each permanent magnet can operate whereby the holding capacity of each magnet is increased. It should also be noted that positioning the magnets within channels protects the permanent magnets from abusive handling during storage and installation.

In use, the permanent magnets 18 are placed within the channels 16 and the stud 10 extended and supported between the floor 26 and ceiling 28. Additional studs are similarly positioned along the line of the wall. Or, in the alternative, half studs 30 can be used in conjunction with one or more C studs 10, as seen in FIG. 3. Metal strips 32 are secured to the wall board 33, which may be gypsum panel or the like, by a suitable adhesive. In the alternative, a wallboard constructed of a magnetic material can be employed. The wallboards 33 are then placed in position on both sides of the studs with the metal strips 32 or magnetic wallboard abutting the pole pieces of the magnets, i.e., the supporting surfaces 12 and 14. A head track 34 is disposed over the upper edges of the wallboards for support and a baseboard 36 is placed over the lower portion on each side of the wall, as shown in FIG. 2. It should also be noted that the permanent magnets 18 need not extend the length of the channels 16, and in fact would rarely do so, as the mounting within channels 16 is such as to provide sufficient holding capacity that the added expense incurred in using longer magnets is unnecessary.

FIG. 4 is illustrative of a third embodiment of the invention, a box stud 38. The box stud 38 or the C stud is generally used between junctures 40 of the wallboard 33, as seen in FIG. 3. While the half stud is often used in intermediary locations to reduce the cost of materials. The resulting wall, shown in FIG. 3, provides a strong and attractive partition between two rooms and one which is easily removable without damage for redesign purposes.

These and other changes and modifications may be made in carrying out the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Insofar as these changes and modifications are within the purview of the appended claims they are to be considered as part of the invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A stud for supporting lengths of wallboard of the type which are magnetically attractive, said stud being composed of a magnetically conductive material and having oppositely disposed elongated support surfaces joined together by a web, each of said support surfaces having a longitudinal channel therein, a quantity of permanent magnetic material positioned in each of said channels, said magnetic material being recessed therein from said support surfaces thereby defining air gaps between the magnetic material and said support surfaces, said magnetic material being coupled in flux conducting relationship to the supporting surfaces of said stud, whereby said magnetically attractive wallboard may be firmly held against said supporting surfaces of said stud.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein each of the magnetic poles of the magnetic material positioned within each channel is in contact with one of the side walls of said channel so that, in operation, said wallboard is held to said stud by the magnetic force of the permanent magnetic material acting through said support surfaces on said magnetically attractive wallboard.

3. A stud for supporting lengths of wallboard of the type which are magnetically attractive, said stud being composed of a magnetically conductive material and having oppositely disposed elongated support surfaces joined together by a web, each of said supporting surfaces having a longitudinal channel therein, a quantity of permanent magnet material positioned in each of said channels, said magnetic material being recessed therein from said support surfaces thereby defining air gaps between the magnetic material and said support surface and each magnetic pole of said permanent magnetic material being in contact with one of the side walls of the channel in which said material is positioned, whereby the magnetic force acts through said support surfaces and said magnetically attractive wallboard is firmly held against said supporting surfaces of said stud.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said channels are disposed intermediate of said support surfaces.

5. The combination of claim 3 wherein each of said support surfaces has a pair of longitudinal channels therein, each of said channels being equidistant from the central longitudinal axis of said stud.

6. The combination of claim 3 wherein said permanent magnetic material comprise strips of rubber bonded permanent magnetic material.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said bonded material is barium ferrite composite.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said channels are disposed intermediate of said support surfaces.

9. The combination of claim 7 wherein each of said support surfaces has a pair of longitudinal channels therein, each of said channels being equidistant from the central longitudinal axis of said stud.