Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Machine or implement
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-10
2001-03-27
Callo, Laura A. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Machine or implement
C052S749100, C052S364000, C052S481100, C052S670000, C029S897312, C029S897330, C029S897350
Reexamination Certificate
active
06205740
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a supporting element for building of walls comprising building panels and the like. The invention also concerns a method for manufacturing such a supporting element.
BACKGROUND ART
Supporting elements of this type are described in the “Tak-väggkatalogen” (“Ceiling Wall Catalogue”) issued in 1994 by Lindab AB, which shows the mounting of so-called building studs on pp 105-107 and which shows various arrangements of vertical studs and horizontal bars cooperating therewith on pp 108-109. Further examples of supporting elements in the field of the invention are shown on e.g. pp 113 and 119 in the above-mentioned catalogue. The term “supporting element” is used below as a conception of studs, sections and bars etc. for the building of walls, especially walls where building panels are mounted on supporting elements.
Furthermore Swedish Published Application SE-B457,223 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,551) discloses a supporting element of U-shaped cross-section comprising a web and two side flanges for supporting building panels or the like. To facilitate the driving-in of fastening screws when mounting building panels on the supporting element (cf. the Lindab Catalogue p. 105), the side flanges have areas of so-called expanded metal which guide the fastening screws (cf.
FIG. 1
in SE-B-457,223).
Such supporting elements as described above are manufactured from a flat sheet-metal blank which, in a special forming process, is formed to U-shaped cross-section. In this forming, undesired internal stress often arises in the supporting element, which may result in the entire supporting element becoming twisted, which renders the mounting operation difficult. In supporting elements of the type shown in SE-B-457,223, the expanded metal in the flanges may cause special stress which, if the worst comes to the worst, causes the free longitudinal edges of the flanges to become twisted or wave-shaped. This wave shape may arise even when the two areas of expanded metal are formed on the flat sheet-metal blank, whose longitudinal edges in unfavourable cases obtain a wave shape of such great amplitude (about 40 mm) that the handling of the strip-shaped sheet-metal blank as well as the forming into the desired supporting element are rendered difficult.
There is thus a need of a new supporting element which tends to a less extent to be twisted and which does not have the above-mentioned undesired wave shape.
A further general desire, which is well known to the expert, is that the supporting element should have good rigidity and withstand the linear loads perpendicular to the flanges, which arise during mounting and also when subjecting the finished wall to loads. Various measures have been suggested for the reinforcing of supporting elements, and examples are shown on p. 113 in the Lindab catalogue mentioned by way of introduction, in which the web of the supporting stud has been provided with two parallel longitudinal reinforcements in the form of grooves.
However, the market now requires still more rigid supporting elements, which is the starting point of this invention. There is a need of a new type of supporting element, which has improved strength and rigidity and whose flanges in particular are reinforced such that they yield towards each other to a smaller extent when subjected to loads, for instance when mounting building panels thereon.
As a further example of prior art, mention can be made of the supporting element according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,098, which for the purpose of reducing the heat and cold conductivity is formed with slits. The above-described inconvenience, i.e. undesired internal stress and insufficient rigidity, however, is not discussed in this reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to suggest a solution to the above-described problems and consequently provide an improved supporting element.
In a accordance with the present invention, an elongate supporting element includes first and second flange portions and a non-coplanar web portion that shares a first common edge with said first flange portion and a second common edge with said second flange portion, said web including a plurality of rows of deformations that extend at least partly through the web and defined a stress-equalising zone.
Providing the inventive supporting element with a stress-equalizing zone having rows of deformations in the web results in better rigidity and capacity of withstanding loads compared with prior-art supporting elements of a similar kind. Particularly good results have been achieved by an embodiment where the stress-equalizing zone is given the form of two elongate portions, which are narrow in relation to the width of the web and which are parallel with the side flanges and each consist of a number of close cuts arranged in rows and extending wholly or partly through the material of the web, said narrow portions defining between themselves unmachined material of the web without cuts. A comparative experiment with such a supporting element will be briefly discussed below.
A 2400-mm-long supporting element of thin metal sheet according to the above-mentioned embodiment, where the flanges of the supporting element have areas of expanded metal, was supported at its ends and subjected to a linear load of 500 N/m. A corresponding prior-art supporting element, essentially according to
FIG. 2
in SE-B457,223, thus having expanded-metal flanges but a completely unmachined-web, was subjected to load in the same fashion. The deflection in the centre of the supporting element according to the invention was only half as great as the deflection of the prior-art supporting element (about 5 mm compared with about 10 mm).
According to the invention, a straight supporting element is obtained, which has good rigidity and no such wave shape as in the prior-art supporting element. The previous undesired internal stress of the supporting element is eliminated or changed thanks to the stress-equalizing zone in the web of the supporting element.
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“Tak-väggkatalogen 94” (Ceiling Wall Catalogue) issued in 1994 by Lindab AB.
Ekerholm Bengt
Larsson Hans
Svensson Ingmar
Callo Laura A.
Lindab AB (Publ)
Weingarten, Schurgin Gagnebin & Hayes LLP
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