U.S. patent number RE28,870 [Application Number 05/606,088] was granted by the patent office on 1976-06-22 for coping structure.
This patent grant is currently assigned to MM Systems Corporation. Invention is credited to Julian J. Attaway, Randolph W. Driggers.
United States Patent |
RE28,870 |
Attaway , et al. |
June 22, 1976 |
Coping structure
Abstract
A coping structure is provided wherein a splice joint between a
pair of normally inverted channel-like coping members is had
through use of a splice member which cooperates inside the channels
of the pair of coping members for covering a transverse seam
between adjacent longitudinal ends of the coping members, the
splice member .[.web furthermore being biased to seam covering
position by resilient means interposed between the splice member
web and the web of a saddle, the saddle having legs engaging legs
of the pair of coping members and.]. being .Iadd.supported and
biased upwardly to cover the seam, and front and rear legs of the
coping members being engaged, against upward movement, with means
.Iaddend.secured to a wall supporting the coping structure.
Inventors: |
Attaway; Julian J. (Tucker,
GA), Driggers; Randolph W. (Tucker, GA) |
Assignee: |
MM Systems Corporation (Tucker,
GA)
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Family
ID: |
27015048 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/606,088 |
Filed: |
August 20, 1975 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
395277 |
Sep 7, 1973 |
03862531 |
Jan 28, 1975 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
52/300;
52/58 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04D
3/405 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E04D
3/40 (20060101); E04F 019/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;52/300,58 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Purser; Ernest R.
Assistant Examiner: Friedman; Carl D.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Armentrout; John B.
Claims
We claim:
1. In a coping structure for capping a wall, the combination which
includes; a pair of inverted channel-like coping members having
contiguous longitudinal end portions forming a transverse seam and
said pair of coping members each comprising a web disposed over the
top of said wall, and front and rear legs projecting from said web
and extending adjacent to said wall outside front and rear sides of
said wall respectively, said front and rear legs of each of said
pair of coping members including portions to be engaged for
restraining said coping member at least against upward movement
forwardly and rearwardly in said coping structure; and splice and
first support means, said means including a splice member
comprising front and rear legs and a web interconnecting said
splice member legs, said splice member legs and web being across
said seam and in overlap with said legs and webs of said pair of
coping members inside the channels of said pair of coping members,
and splice support structure securely on said wall and including a
web and front and rear legs interconnected by said web of said
splice support structure, said front and rear legs and web of said
splice support structure being disposed intermediately of said wall
and said front and rear legs and web of said splice member, said
front leg of said splice support structure having a portion to be
engaged with said front leg portions of said pair of coping members
for arresting at least upward movement of said pair of coping
members, and said rear leg of said splice support structure having
a portion for being engaged with said rear leg portions of said
pair of coping members for arresting at least upward movement of
said pair of coping members, said splice support structure web
comprising a raised forward web portion supported by said front leg
of said splice support structure for said splice support structure
to sustain said splice member web while said splice member web is
contiguous to said webs of said pair of coping members forwardly in
said coping structure and impede said pair of coping members
forwardly against downward movement, having said pair of coping
members arrested at least against upward movement through said
portions of said front legs of said pair of coping members and said
front leg portion of said splice support structure being engaged,
and said splice support structure further being characterized by
said web thereof having a lower rearward portion adjacent to the
top of said wall, and said splice and first support means further
including resilient biasing means extending deflected
intermediately of said web of said splice support structure and
said splice member web for supporting said splice member web while
said splice member web is against said webs of said pair of coping
members at least rearwardly of said forward raised web portion of
said splice support structure and said front leg portions of said
pair of coping members are engaged with said front leg portion of
said splice support structure at least against upward movement of
said pair of coping members forwardly in said coping structure and
said rear leg portions of said pair of coping members and said rear
leg portion of said splice support structure are engaged at least
against upward movement of said pair of coping members rearwardly
in said coping structure.
2. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said webs
of said pair of coping members slope rearwardly downwardly in the
coping structure, having said front leg portions of said pair of
coping members engaged with said front leg end portion of said
splice support structure and said rear leg portions of said pair of
coping members and said rear leg portion of said splice support
structure engaged.
3. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said
biasing means of said splice support structure includes strip
spring means interposed between said lower rearward portion of said
splice support structure web and said splice member web and
deflected for supporting said splice member web while said splice
member web is against said webs of said pair of coping members and
said front leg portions of said pair of coping members are engaged
with said front leg portion of said splice support structure and
said rear leg portions of said pair of coping members and said rear
leg portion of said splice support structure are engaged.
4. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 3 wherein said strip
spring means includes an inclined strut, and a presser foot
extending from said strut, said strut being connected with said web
of either said splice member and said splice support structure and
sprung having said presser foot contacting the other said web of
said splice member and said splice support structure, for
supporting said splice member web while said splice member web is
against said webs of said pair of coping members and said leg
portions of said pair of coping members are engaged with said leg
portions of said splice support structure.
5. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 3 wherein said strip
spring means includes a pair of oppositely inclined struts, and
presser feet extending from said struts, said struts being
connected with said web of either said splice member and said
splice support structure and sprung having said presser feet
contacting the other said web of said splice member and said splice
support structure, for supporting said splice member web while said
splice member web is against said webs of said pair of coping
members and said leg portions of said pair of coping members are
engaged with said leg portions of said splice support
structure.
6. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 3 wherein said strip
spring means includes a pair of oppositely inclined struts, a base
member interconnecting said struts, and presser feet extending from
said struts, said base member being connected with said web of
either said splice member and said splice support structure and
sprung having said presser feet contacting the other said web of
said splice member and said splice support structure, for
supporting said splice member web while said splice member web is
against said webs of said pair of coping members and said leg
portions of said pair of coping members are engaged with said leg
portions of said splice support structure.
7. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said
biasing means includes resilient block means interposed between
said lower web portion of said splice support structure and said
splice member web and compressed for supporting said splice member
web while said splice member web is against said webs of said pair
of coping members and said front leg portion of said pair of coping
members are engaged with said front leg portion of said splice
support structure and said rear leg portions of said pair of coping
members and said rear leg portion of said splice support structure
are engaged.
8. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein screws,
having shanks through apertures in said rear leg portions of said
pair of coping members and said rear leg portion of said splice
support structure, interconnect said rear legs of said pair of
coping members with said rear leg of said splice support
structure.
9. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said
biasing means includes resilient block means, and strip spring
means comprising an inclined strut and a presser foot extending
from said strut, said strut being connected with said web of either
said splice member and said splice support structure and sprung
having said presser foot contacting the other said web of said
splice member and splice support structure, and said biasing means
having said resilient block means disposed compressed behind said
presser foot for biasing said presser foot to support said splice
member web while said splice member web is against said webs of
said pair of coping members and said leg portions of said pair of
coping members are engaged with said leg portions of said splice
support structure.
10. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said rear
leg portion of said splice support structure is adapted to be
latchedly engaged, and screws, having shanks through apertures in
said rear leg portions of said pair of coping members and said
shanks threadedly engaging said pair of coping members in said
apertures, engage said rear leg portion of said splice support
structure latchedly against upward movement of said pair of coping
members rearwardly in said coping structure.
11. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 1 wherein there is
further included contact and second support means, the latter said
means comprising, contact means extending adjacent to said web of a
first of said pair of coping members inside the channel of said
first coping member and spaced longitudinally of said first coping
member away from opposite longitudinal ends of said first coping
member, and contact support structure securely on said wall and
including a web and front and rear legs interconnected by said web
of said contact support structure, said front leg of said contact
support structure having a portion for being engaged with said
front leg portion of said first coping member for restraining said
first coping member at least against upward movement forwardly in
said coping structure, and said rear leg of said contact support
structure having a portion to be engaged with said rear leg portion
of said first coping member for restraining said first coping
member at least against upward movement rearwardly in said coping
structure, said contact support structure web comprising a raised
forward web portion supported by said front leg of said contact
support structure to sustain said contact means while said contact
means is contiguous to said web of said first coping member
forwardly in said coping structure and impede said first coping
member forwardly in the coping structure against downward movement,
having said first coping member arrested at least against upward
movement through said front portion of said first coping member and
said front leg portion of said contact support structure being
engaged, and said contact support structure further being
characterized by said web thereof having a lower rearward portion
adjacent to the top of said wall, and said contact and second
support means further including resilient biasing means extending
deflected intermediately of said web of said contact support
structure and said contact member for supporting said contact means
rearwardly of said forward raised web portion of said contact
support structure against said web of said first coping member
while said front leg portion of said first coping member is engaged
with said front leg portion of said contact support structure and
said rear leg portion of said first coping member and said rear leg
portion of said contact support structure are engaged.
12. In a coping structure for capping a wall, the combination which
includes; a pair of inverted channel-like coping members having
contiguous longitudinal end portions forming a transverse seam and
said pair of coping members each comprising a web disposed over the
top of said wall, and front and rear legs projecting from said web
and extending adjacent to said wall outside front and rear sides of
said wall respectively and said legs including portions to be
engaged for restraining said coping member at least against upward
movement; and splice and first support means, said means including,
a splice member comprising frOnt and rear sheet material legs and a
sheet material web integral with said splice member legs, said
splice member legs and web being across said seam and in overlap
with said legs and webs of said pair of coping members inside the
channels of said pair of coping members, and splice support
structure securely on said wall and including a sheet material web
and sheet material front and rear legs integral with said web of
said splice support structure, said front and rear legs and web of
said splice support structure being disposed intermediately of said
wall and said front and rear legs and web of said splice member and
having portions to be engaged with said leg portions of said pair
of coping members for arresting at least upward movement of said
pair of coping members, said splice support structure web
comprising a forward raised web portion supported by said front leg
of said splice support structure for said splice support structure
to sustain said splice member forwardly in said coping structure in
contiguity to said webs of said pair of coping members and impede
said pair of coping members forwardly against downward movement,
having said pair of coping members arrested at least against upward
movement through said front leg portions of said pair of coping
members being engaged with said front leg portion of said splice
support structure, and said splice support structure further being
characterized by said web thereof having a lower rearward portion
adjacent to the top of said wall, and said splice and first support
means further includIng resilient biasing means extending deflected
intermediately of said web of said splice support structure and
said splice member web for urging said splice member web upwardly
against said webs of said pair of coping members at least
rearwardly of said forward raised web portion of said splice
support structure while said leg portions of said splice support
structure are engaged with said leg portions of said pair of coping
members and restrain said pair of coping members at least against
upward movement.
13. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 12 wherein said
webs of said pair of coping members slope rearwardly downwardly in
the coping structure, having said front leg portions of said pair
of coping members engaged with said front leg portion of said
splice support structure and said rear leg portions of said pair of
coping members and said rear leg portion of said splice support
structure engaged.
14. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 13 wherein said
biasing means includes strip spring means including an inclined
strut interposed between said lower rearward portion of said splice
support structure web and said splice member web and deflected for
supporting said splice member web while said splice member web is
against said webs of said coping members and said front leg
portions of said coping members are engaged with said front leg
portion of said splice support structure and said rear leg portions
of said coping members and said rear leg portion of said splice
support structure are engaged.
15. In a coping structure as set forth in claim 13 wherein said
biasing means includes resilient block means contacting said lower
portion of said splice support structure web and said splice member
web and compressed for supporting said splice member web while said
splice member web is against said web of said coping members and
said front leg portions of said coping members are engaged with
said front leg portion of said splice support structure and said
rear leg portions of said coping members and said rear leg portion
of said splice support structure are engaged. .Iadd. 16. In coping
structure for capping a wall, the combination which includes; a
pair of inverted channel-like coping members having contiguous
longitudinal end portions forming a transverse seam, and said pair
of coping members each comprising, a web disposed over the top of
said wall, and first and second legs connected with said web and
extending adjacent to opposite sides of said wall respectively,
said first and second legs of each of said pair of coping members
having engagable means thereon; and splice and support means
splicing and supporting said pair of coping members, said splice
and support means comprising, splice means disposed inside said
pair of coping members and upwardly against said webs of said pair
of coping members and splicing said pair of coping members across
said transverse seam, support means connected with said wall and
including, first leg and engaging means comprising sheet material
first leg means and first engaging means, and said support means
further including, upwardly raised sheet material means leading
from against the top of said wall and connected with said sheet
material first leg means, and second engaging means, said first and
second engaging means of said support means engaging said engagable
means on said first and second legs respectively of said pair of
coping members against upward movement of said pair of coping
members, and said upwardly raised sheet material means rigidly
obstructing downward movement of said splice means and said webs of
said pair of coping members and disengagement of said engagable
means on said first legs of said pair of coping members, and said
splice and support means further comprising biasing means biasing
said splice means against said webs of said pair of coping members
to support said pair of coping members resiliently against downward
movement of said pair of coping members and against disengagement
of said engagable means on said second legs of said pair of coping
members while said engagable means on said legs of said pair of
coping members are engaged against upward movement of said pair of
coping members. .Iaddend..Iadd. 17. In coping structure as set
forth in claim 16 wherein said upwardly raised sheet material means
and said second engaging means of said support means are
interconnected by sheet material resting against the top of said
wall. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 18. In coping structure as set forth in
claim 16 wherein said support means includes second leg and
engaging means comprising sheet material second leg means having
said second engaging means of said support means thereon.
.Iaddend..Iadd. 19. In coping structure as set forth in claim 18
wherein said upwardly raised sheet material means and said sheet
material second leg means of said support means are interconnected
by sheet material leading resting against the top of said wall.
.Iaddend.
Description
The present invention relates to coping structure for covering the
opposite upper side facial areas and top of a wall, and is more
particularly concerned with coping structure wherein a plurality of
coping members are utilized for capping a wall longitudinally in
series with one another.
.Iadd.This invention interrelates a pair of inverted channel-like
coping members which cap a wall, with splice and support means, for
the splice and support means to support the pair of coping members
while splicing the pair of coping members across a transverse seam
formed by contiguous longitudinal end portions of the pair of
coping members. First and second legs of each of the pair of coping
members are interconnected by a web and have engagable means
thereon. The splice and support means comprises, splice means
disposed inside the pair of coping members and against the webs of
the pair of coping members from substantially the first legs of the
pair of coping members to the second legs of the pair of coping
members and splicing the pair of coping members across the
transverse seam, and support means connected with the wall and
engaging the engagable means on the several legs of the pair of
coping members against upward movement of the pair of coping
members and rigidly obstructing downward movement of the splice
means and the webs of the pair of coping members and disengagement
of the engagable means on the first legs of the pair of coping
members. Further, the splice and support means includes biasing
means biasing the splice means against the webs of the pair of
coping members to support the pair of coping members resiliently
against downward movement of the pair of coping members and against
disengagement of the engagable means on the second legs of the pair
of coping members while the engagable means on the several legs of
the pair of coping members are engaged against upward movement of
the pair of coping members. .Iaddend.
An object of this invention .Iadd.accordingly .Iaddend.is to
achieve a coping splice joint involving adjacent longitudinal ends
of a normally inverted channel-like pair of coping members and
entailing use of a splice member inside the channels of the pair of
coping members, along with having splice support structure
connected with the legs of the pair of coping members and mounted
on a wall, and using resilient biasing means acting against the
splice member for urging the splice member upwardly against the
pair of coping members.
Another object herein is to achieve coping splice joint structure
of the character indicated, and to support at least one of the pair
of coping members through use of a contact member disposed inside
the channel of the coping member intermediately of the opposite
longitudinal ends of the coping member, through having structure
supporting the contact member and connected with the legs of the
coping member and mounted on the wall, this with introducing
resilient biasing means in the coping for urging the contact member
upwardly against the coping member.
Other objects of this invention in part will be obvious and in part
pointed out more fully hereinafter.
In accordance with the present invention a coping structure for
capping a wall is provided including a pair of channel-like coping
members having contiguous longitudinal end portions which form a
transverse seam with one another. A web of each of the pair of
coping members is disposed over the top of a wall which thus is
covered, and front and rear legs of each of the two coping members
lead from the web of the related coping member and are adjacent to
the wall so as to cover upper facial areas of front and rear sides
of the wall respectively. The front leg of each of the pair of
coping members is characterized by having a flange to be engaged
for restraining the coping member against upward movement forwardly
in the coping structure and the rear leg of each of the two coping
members comprises an end portion to be engaged at least against
upward movement of the coping member rearwardly in the coping
structure.
In splice and support means provided in the coping structure, a
splice member includes front and rear legs and a web
interconnecting the latter legs, for the splice member to be
disposed inside the channels of the pair of coping members and the
splice member legs and web .Iadd.to be .Iaddend.located across the
aforementioned transverse seam and in overlap with the legs and
webs of the pair of coping members. Further, in the splice and
support means, a splice support structure adapted to be secured to
the wall is characterized by including a web and front and rear
legs depending from the web of the splice support structure so as,
when installed, to have the front and rear legs and web of the
splice support structure interposed between front and rear upper
facial areas .Iadd.and top .Iaddend.of the wall and the front and
rear legs and web of the splice member. The front leg of the splice
support structure has an end portion for engaging the front leg
flanges of the pair of coping members, and arresting upward
movement of the pair of coping members, and the rear leg of the
splice support structure has an end portion for being engaged with
the rear leg end portions of a pair of coping members. A further
feature resides in that the web of the splice support structure
includes a raised forward web portion for sustaining the splice
member web contiguous to the webs of the pair of coping members
forwardly in the coping structure and for impeding the pair of
coping members forwardly against downward movement while the
flanges of the front legs of the pair of coping members and the
front leg end portion of the splice support structure are engaged
to arrest upward movement of the pair of coping members. The web of
the splice support structure also is characterized by having a
lower rearward portion adjacent to the top of the wall.
The splice and support means further includes resilient biasing
means extending deflected between the web of the splice support
structure and the splice member web for urging the splice member
upwardly against the webs of the pair of coping members at least
rearwardly of the forward raised web portion of the splice support
structure while the front leg flanges of the pair of coping members
engage the front leg end portion of the splice support structure
and the rear leg end portions of the pair of coping members are
engaged at least against upward movement of the pair of coping
members rearwardly in the coping structure.
Should there be need, a similar additional normally inverted
channel-like coping member is introduced to the remaining opposite
end of either of the pair of coping members already described, thus
to form a further transverse seam and prolong the coping structure
longitudinally. Of course, as need may be, a plurality of such
coping members may be introduced, as for example by adding those
coping members to produce transverse seams at both remaining
opposite ends of the aforementioned pair of coping members. Each
transverse seam accordingly formed is accompanied by a
corresponding splice and support means similar to that already
described, the thus added splice and support means being installed
upon the then appropriate upper portion of the wall and so as to be
underneath the two particular coping members which form the given
transverse seam.
Another feature in accordance with the present invention resides in
the provision of contact and support means wherein a contact member
and related support structure are provided inside the channel of a
normally inverted channel-like coping member of the character
hereinbefore described, the contact and support means being adapted
to be installed upon a portion of the wall so as to be underneath
the coping member intermediately of the opposite longitudinal ends
of the coping member. The support structure referred to includes a
web and front and rear legs depending from the latter web, and as
installed is securely on the wall. The front leg of the contact
support structure has an end portion for engaging the front leg
flange of the coping member and arresting upward movement of the
coping member forwardly in the coping structure, and the rear leg
of the contact support structure has an end portion for being
engaged with the rear leg of the coping member for at least
arresting upward movement of the coping member rearwardly in the
coping structure. A raised forward portion of the web of the
contact support structure is provided for impeding downward
movement of the coping member while the front leg flange of the
coping member and the front leg end portion of the contact support
structure are engaged for arresting upward movement of the coping
member. The contact support structure further is characterized by
the web thereof having a lower rearward portion adjacent to the top
of the wall, and the contact and support means furthermore includes
resilient biasing means extending deflected between the web of the
contact support structure and the contact member web for urging the
contact member upwardly against the coping member web at least
rearwardly of the forward raised web portion of the contact support
structure while the front leg flange of the coping member engages
the front leg end portion of the contact support structure and the
rear leg end portion of the coping member and the rear leg end
portion of the contact support structure are engaged at least
against upward movement of the coping member rearwardly in the
coping structure.
The accompanying drawings include selected views in illustration,
and not limitation, of preferred embodiments of the present
invention, in which:
FIG. 1 is a top plan view representing a coping structure installed
on a wall;
FIG. 2 is a transverse cross section taken in a vertical plane
inclusive of line 2--2 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 provides a detail representation of a splice member, and of
splice support and biasing structure, and corresponds to FIG.
1;
FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 represent modified embodiments of coping
structure and are transverse cross sections comparable with FIG. 2;
and
FIGS. 8 and 9 are broken away detail transverse cross sectional
views representing modified connections effected between rear legs
of coping members and rear legs of splice support structure.
Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2 herein, a coping
structure 10, represented installed upon a wall 16, such as a
parapet, includes a plurality of channel-like members 11, which are
similar in cross section, each comprising a web 12 which
interconnects a front leg 13 and a rear leg 14 of the coping
member. Adjacent longitudinal ends of the coping members 11 form
transverse seams 15 with one another in the installation, the
member webs 12 being disposed covering the top of the wall 16 and
the front and rear legs 13 and 14 of the members being located
forwardly and rearwardly outside upper side facial areas of the
wall 16, respectively. The front and rear legs 13 and 14 of each
related coping member 11 introduce upwardly and inwardly open
doubled lower end portions 13a and 14a which form downwardly and
outwardly directed flanges for the coping member to be engaged in a
manner hereinafter to be described.
In the present embodiment and in the several other embodiments
chosen to be represented in the accompanying drawings, the coping
members referred to are preferably made from aluminum alloy sheet
material though of course if desired the coping members may instead
be produced from some other sheet material such as galvanized sheet
steel or be formed as extrusions or molded products of any suitable
composition.
At the transverse seams 15, the coping members 11 are connected
with the wall 16 and are spliced. Accordingly, each such connection
and splice joint includes splice and support means 19 comprising a
splice member 20 and splice support structure 30 which are
represented in detail in FIG. 3. The splice support structure 30
comprises a wall saddle member 31 provided with a web 32 and front
and rear legs 33 and 34. A raised forward portion 32a of the saddle
member web 32 is integral with the upper end of front leg 33 and
leads downwardly and rearwardly and is integral with a lower
rearward portion 32b of the saddle member web .Iadd.thus to
contribute rigidity to the front leg 33 through bracing the
same.Iaddend., the lower rearward portion of the latter web being
integral with the upper end of rear leg 34. Lower outwardly and
downwardly directed flange end portions 33a and 34a of the front
and rear legs 33 and 34 are introduced for engaging the front and
rear flanges 13a and 14a of the coping members 11 thus to arrest
upward and in fact downward movement of the coping members on the
wall 16.
A plurality of the splice and support means 19, all of which are
similar, are spaced apart from one another longitudinally of the
wall 16 so as individually to underlie the adjacent ends of the
coping members 11 at the transverse seams 15. In these positions,
the wall saddle members 31 have their webs 32 bridging across the
top of the wall 16 from front to rear, and the front and rear legs
33 and 34 of the saddle members are respectively outside front and
rear upper facial areas of the wall 16, meanwhile having the raised
forward portions 32a of the webs 32, and the upper ends of the
front legs 33, projecting above the top of the wall, and the lower
rearward portion 32b of the webs 32 furthermore resting against the
top of the wall. The wall saddle members 31 accordingly positioned
are secured to the wall 16 as by headed fasteners 59 introduced
through appropriate apertures in the wall saddle member legs and
into the wall 16 or the saddle members are secured as by use of a
bonding material adhering each saddle member to the wall, this with
or without the use of headed fasteners.
Splice member 20 in each of the splice and support means 19 is
configurated to nest into the channel of any one or another of the
coping members 11 and includes front and rear legs 21 and 22
integral with web 23 which interconnects the upper ends of those
legs. As installed in adjacent ends of a pair of coping members 11,
web 23 of the splice member overlaps the webs 12 of the pair of
coping members at the underneath side of the coping members while
leading across the related transverse seam 15, this with also
having the front and rear legs 21 and 22 overlap the front and rear
legs 13 and 14 of the pair of coping members while extending across
the related transverse seam 15. A downwardly and outwardly directed
lower end flange 21a of the splice member leg 21 is entrant into
the inwardly and upwardly open flanges 13a of the related pair of
channel members 11 so as in this manner to have the web 23 lie
substantially against the webs 12 of the two channel members at the
front. Rear leg 22 of the splice member is a straight leg
throughout, and terminates at lower end slightly above the inwardly
and upwardly open flanges 14a of the related pair of channel
members 11 when the splice member 23 is brought up against the webs
12 of the two channel members at the rear.
In the present embodiment, the splice members 20 and the wall
saddle members 31 are made from galvanized sheet steel and by
cutting and bending into form, though of course any other suitable
material or forming operations may instead be resorted to if
desired.
In installing any particular one of the similar splice members 20
across the related seam 15, the splice member legs 21 and 22
advantageously are initially sprung apart so as thereafter upon
insertion of the splice member into the channels of the pair of
coping members 11 the legs 21 and 22 inherently exert pressure upon
the legs 13 and 14 of the two channel members, thus closing against
the seam 15 from the inside.
Describing further the similar splice seat structures 30, and by
referring to but one such splice seat structure 30, which is
thought to suffice, a spring strip 40 of galvanized sheet steel, or
of any other suitable resilient material.Iadd., .Iaddend.has a
rearwardly directed upper flange 40a and a forwardly directed lower
flange 40b leading outwardly from opposite sides of a normally
rearwardly inclined intermediate connecting strut 40c of the strip.
The spring strip 40 is situated in the margin defined on the lower
web portion 32b of the related wall saddle member 31 from the rear
leg 34 of the wall saddle member, and the lower flange 40b is spot
welded to the lower web portion 32b in order to have the
intermediate strut 40c and the upper flange 40a resiliently project
from the .[.wall.]. .Iadd.web of .Iaddend.saddle member 31. A block
of neoprene 41 or of other suitable resilient material, adhered to
the lower web portion 32b of the wall saddle member 31, is situated
between the forward raised portion 32a of the saddle member web 32
and the spring strip 40 and coextends longitudinally of the wall
with the spring strip 40 and the supporting wall saddle member
web.
With regard to any particular one of the splice seat structures 30
securely on the wall 16 as hereinbefore described, a pair of the
coping members 11 forming a transverse seam 15 at their adjacent
longitudinal ends outside the wall saddle member 31 of the splice
seat structure 30 have their front leg end flanges 13a engaging the
front leg flange end portion 33a of the wall saddle member 31 and
accordingly are arrested forwardly in the coping structure 10
against upward movement, while downward movement in order to
release the front leg end flanges 13a of the pair of coping members
from the front leg flange end portion 33a of the wall saddle member
is impeded forwardly in the coping structure 10 by the raised
forward web portion 32a of the saddle member web and the resilient
block 41. Meanwhile, with the rear leg end flanges 14a of the pair
of coping members 11 engaging the rear leg flange end portion 34a
of the wall saddle member 31 against upward movement of the two
coping members, the splice member web 23 is thrust upwardly against
the webs 12 of the two coping members under bias of the spring
strip 40 and the resilient block 41. Further, in the present
embodiment, it will be understood that the plurality of splice and
support means 19 .[.are.]. .Iadd.for .Iaddend.the coping members 11
used in the coping structure 10 are proportioned so that when the
wall saddle members 31 are properly installed on the wall 16 and
the front and rear leg end flanges 13a and 14a are engaged with the
corresponding front and rear leg flange end portions 33a and 34a of
the wall saddle members 31, the webs 12 of the coping members 11
slope rearwardly and downwardly in the coping structure while the
webs 23 of the splice members 20 are supported on bias of the
spring strips 40 and the resilient blocks 41 on the wall saddle
members 31 up against the coping member webs 12 and across the
transverse seams 15. If desired, each seam 15 is sealed off by the
addition of a caulking compound or of any other suitable sealant
between the related splice member 20 and the corresponding end
portions of the coping members 11 in the joint. In certain
embodiments still in accordance with the present invention the
upper end of the resilient block 41 and the upper flange 40a of the
resilient strip 40 may instead be affixed to the web of the splice
member 20 thus to have a lower free end of the resilient block and
a lower free flange of the strip press upon the saddle member web
32 for biasing the splice member upwardly into contact with the
coping members 11 at the seam 15.
As need may be in the present embodiment, support and connection
with the wall 16 of any particular one of the coping members 11,
intermediately of the opposite longitudinal ends of the coping
member, is for example had through use of one or more of the splice
and support means 19 hereinbefore described, but installed on the
wall and connected with the coping member 11 intermediately of the
opposite longitudinal ends of the coping member so as to have the
associated splice member 20 removed longitudinally of the coping
member from any of the transverse seams 15 and serve merely as an
intermediate contact or shim member against the web 12 of the
coping member within the coping member channel. One such
installation is designated as 19a in FIG. 1 and in transverse cross
section is similar to FIG. 2 except for the fact that the
installation is removed longitudinally of the coping member 11 from
either of the transverse seams 15 at the opposite longitudinal ends
of the coping member.
In the FIG. 4 embodiment of the present invention, the coping
structure as hereinbefore described is modified to the extent that
each of the wall saddle members 31 carries a biasing means which
comprises a spring strip 42, such as of galvanized steel sheet, the
spring strip furthermore including a base 42a which is spot welded
to the lower web portion 32b of the saddle member, a forwardly
inclined strut 42b integral with a forward flange 42c leading
toward the forward raised portion 32a of the saddle member web, and
a rearwardly inclined strut 42d integral with a rearward flange 42e
leading rearwardly in the saddle member. The forward and rearward
flanges 42c and 42e serve as presser feet in contact with the
related splice or contact member 20 for the spring strip 42 to
raise the related splice or intermediate contact member 20 into
contact with one or more of the coping members 11 depending upon
whether the particular saddle member 31 is installed intermediately
of the longitudinal ends of one of the coping members 11 or is used
for bridging across a transverse seam between two of the coping
members 11. In certain embodiments in accordance with the present
invention, the spring strips 42 disclosed as the biasing means used
in connection with the wall saddle members 31 are supplemented by
pairs of blocks 43 and 44 (see FIG. 5) such as of neoprene or of
other suitable resilient material. Typically, in this respect,
block 43 is securely based upon the lower web portion 32b of the
related saddle member 31 so as to be between the forward raised
portion 32a of the web 32 and the forward flange 42c of the spring
strip 42, and block 44 is securely based upon this same lower web
portion 32b and projects into contact with the underneath side of
the rearward flange 42e of the spring strip 42. The two blocks 43
and 44 have their upper ends in contact with the web 23 of the
related splice or intermediate contact member 20 and are held
compressed while the flanges 42c and 42e of the spring strip 42 are
also in contact with the web 23 and are held deflected, so as to
bias the splice or intermediate contact member 20 upwardly against
the web 12 of the coping member or members 11 with which the wall
saddle member 31 is associated in the coping structure.
In FIG. 6, the embodiment therein represented introduces a truss
detail along with biasing means afforded on the wall saddle members
31. Thus, a spring strip 45 of galvanized sheet steel or of other
suitable material includes a pair of bases 45a and 45b which
respectively are spaced apart .[.in.]. .Iadd.and .Iaddend. forward
and rearward bases 45a and 45b are interconnected by an
intermediate rearwardly and downwardly sloping top truss component
45c and by oppositely downwardly and outwardly inclined side truss
components 45d and 45e respectively leading from the forward end of
the top truss component 45c to the rearward end of the forward base
45a and from the rearward end of the top truss component 45c to the
forward end of the rearward base 45b, the top truss component 45c
serving as a rest for the web of the related splice or intermediate
contact member 20 and being directly under the rearwardly and
downwardly sloping web 12 of either the pair of coping members 11
or the one of the coping members 11 utilized in connection with the
saddle member as hereinbefore described. The biasing means in the
spring strip 45 includes a forward strut 45f leading forwardly and
upwardly inclined from the forward end of base 45a, and a forward
flange 45g integral with the upper end of the strut 45f and
projecting over the upper end of the raised forward web portion 32a
of the wall saddle member 31, and the biasing means in the spring
strip 45 further includes a rearward strut 45h leading rearwardly
and upwardly inclined from the rearward end of base 45b, and a
rearward flange 45i integral with the upper end of the struts 45h
and projecting rearwardly above the lower web portion 32b of the
wall saddle member 31. The flanges 45g and 45i prior to being
installed in the coping structure are sprung upwardly along with
the truts 45f and 45h from the bases 45a and 45b so as to be
deflected to the positions indicated in FIG. 6 through being
installed in the coping structure and thus to bias the web 23 of
the associated splice or intermediate contact member 20 upwardly
against the web structure of either the coping member 11 or the
pair of coping members 11 involved in the connection.
In a further embodiment, represented in FIG. 7, the coping
structure is similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 3, inclusive, but
involves the introduction of a network of apertures 32c in the
lower web portion 32b of the wall saddle members 31 in order to
have a cementing agent introduced between the lower web portion 32b
and the top of a wall on which the coping structure is installed
ooze through the apertures 32c and thus achieve improved bond.
Optionally, of course, headed fasteners 59 may be used with or
without the cementing agent for fastening the saddle member to the
wall and the same comment applies to the other embodiments
disclosed herein. It will also be observed that in the FIG. 7
embodiment a spring strip 40' of the character described with
reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 is utilized secured in a rearward
position on the lower web portion 32b for biasing the rearward
portion of the splice or intermediate contact member web 23
upwardly against the web or webs 12 of the coping member or members
11 in the connection, reliance meanwhile being placed upon the
upper end of the raised forward portion 32a of the saddle member 31
for maintaining contiguity of the forward portion of the splice or
intermediate contact member web 20 to the web or webs 12 of the
coping member or members 11 in the connection.
In certain embodiments in accordance with the present invention,
screws are utilized for securing lower end portions of the rear
legs of the coping members to lower end portions of the wall saddle
members, such as in FIG. 8 wherein each screw 47 has its shank
through apertures 48 and 49 respectively in a lower end portion of
the coping member rear leg 14' and in a lower end portion of the
wall saddle member rear leg 34' and threadedly engaged in the
apertures with those portions, or such for example as in FIG. 9
wherein each screw 50 has its shank engaged with the coping member
rear leg 14" through an aperture 51 in a lower end portion of the
coping member rear leg and its shank latchedly engaging a lower end
latch portion 52 of the wall saddle member rear leg 34".
As the invention lends itself to many possible embodiments and as
many possible changes may be made in the embodiments .[.and as many
possible changes may be made in the embodiments.]. hereinbefore set
forth, it will be distinctly understood that all matter described
herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not as a
limitation.
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