Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – With adjunctive means for assembly or disassembly – Removable prop or brace combined with structure component
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-04
2001-10-30
Stephan, Beth A. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
With adjunctive means for assembly or disassembly
Removable prop or brace combined with structure component
C052S127100, C052S745110, C052S745120, C248S351000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308467
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to the construction industry and, in particular, to the construction of houses wherein prefabricated building walls are raised and positioned perpendicularly to the floors of buildings.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the construction industry, individual homes generally are built from the ground up. First the foundation, then the ground floor, are constructed. Then, the walls must be built. One way of doing this is to prefabricate sections of wall, lay them on the floor, and raise them into position. Generally, this is done individually and sequentially. One section of wall is raised, and is placed in position by construction workers. The wall section must be exactly vertical, perpendicular to the floor. To ensure that the wall is at a 90° angle, the construction workers measure the position of the wall, and fix the wall in position by nailing struts to the wall and floor to hold the wall in place. After construction of the level is completed, the struts are removed.
This procedure requires the use of a number of nails which must then be removed, and requires several construction workers to raise, position, and brace a wall.
Those reasonably skilled in the art of construction currently use the method described above, whereby the wall is raised, positioned first by “eye” and refined by use of tools such as a plumb line, and retained in position with a series of “2-by-4s” nailed to the wall. A search for prior art yielded six references:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,404
U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,634
U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,361
U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,885
U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,202
U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,981
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for raising a wall to the perpendicular position and temporarily bracing the wall in that position during construction of buildings. In a first embodiment, the wall positioning and bracing apparatus of the present invention includes:
first and second elongated members each having proximal and distal ends, and being pivotally attached to one another at their proximal ends;
a connector plate affixed to the distal end of the first member for affixing to the floor of a building under construction;
wall affixing means attached to the distal end of the second member for removably affixing the second member to the upper end of a prefabricated wall when said wall is initially lying flat on the floor with a base in a location desired for the wall when erected, such that the wall to which the second elongated member is attached may be moved to a position perpendicular to the floor, such position determined, among other things, by the combined length of the first and second members, the position where the connector plate is affixed to the floor, and the position on the wall where the second member is affixed.
In a related embodiment, there is provided a method whereby the apparatus of the present invention is used to raise and position a wall perpendicular to a floor during the construction of buildings. The method of this embodiment includes:
providing an apparatus as described above;
affixing the connector plate at the distal end of the first elongated member of claim
1
to the floor of a building under construction;
affixing the distal end of the second elongated member of claim
1
to the upper end of a prefabricated wall;
raising the wall to the point where the brace is opened to the open position wherein the first and second elongated members are coextensive, such that the wall is moved to a position perpendicular to the floor; and
securing the members in the open position.
In a further embodiment of the apparatus herein, the elongated members are pivotally attached such that the second elongated member is moveable 180° into an open position coextensive with the first elongated member, and the apparatus further comprises a means for securing the apparatus in the open position.
Using an embodiment, a construction worker measures out from the edge of the floor to a certain distance, for example, 84 inches, and positions the distal end of the first elongated member at that point. The elongated member is affixed, for example, pivotally, to the floor at that point. A second elongated member is pivotally attached to the opposite end of the first elongated member, and folds such that the second elongated member lies parallel to and on top of the first elongated member. The distal end of the second elongated member may be affixed to the wall section. The brace is affixed to the wall at a point, for example, two inches vertically from the floor. When the brace is opened, and the wall is raised, components of the embodiment are dimensional so that when the brace is unfolded to the open, coextensive position, then the wall automatically is raised to a position perpendicular to the floor. The brace may be latched in the open position to hold the wall in the perpendicular position. A preferred latching method is by inserting pins through holes in a side-mount brace attached to the first elongated member which become aligned with holes in the second elongated member when the brace is opened. In a preferred embodiment, the elongated members are made of steel to ensure strength and durability.
For an example of suitable dimensions for the embodiment described immediately above, the length from the end of the first elongated member affixed to the floor to the end of the second elongated member affixed to the wall is 121.62 inches. Even more preferably, the first elongated member is 59.5 inches long and the second elongated member is 61.5 inches long, with a space for a hinge between them 0.62 inches long. These lengths are preferred because with standard-sized houses, 86 inches high is a preferred point of affixing the brace to the wall when the wall is positioned vertically. When the distal end of the first member is affixed to the floor 84 inches (D
1
)from the edge of the floor, and the distal end of the second member is affixed 2 inches (D
2
) vertically and 86 inches horizontally from the edge of the floor when the wall is lying on the floor, after the wall is raised, the total horizontal length from the point of affixation to the floor to the point of affixation to the wall is 86 inches. When the wall is in the vertical position, the 86 inch high point of affixation to the wall (H) and the 86 inch horizontal distance from the point of affixation on the floor to the point of affixation on the wall (D), (D=D
1
+D
2
), ensures that the wall will be perpendicular to the floor, when the total length of the brace from the point of affixation to the floor to the point of affixation to the wall (L) totals 121.62 inches (H
2
+D
2
=L
2
: (horizontal distance: 86 inches)
2
+(vertical distance: 84 inches (D
1
)+2 inches (D
2
))
2
=(length from point of affixation to floor to point of affixation to wall: “L”)
2
=>L=121.62 inches.
In this preferred embodiment, the point of affixation of the second elongated member to the wall is 2 inches longer than the point of affixation of the first elongated member to the floor in order to ensure that when the wall is vertical, the point of affixation to the wall is 86 inches high. This is so because the first elongated member is affixed to the floor at a point 84 inches from the edge of the floor, so to ensure that the point of affixation to the wall is an additional 2 inches beyond the edge of the floor when the brace is in the open position, the second elongated member is affixed to the wall in the horizontal position such that it is affixed 2 inches beyond the 84 inch point of measurement from the edge of the floor.
Rather than the current method of positioning the wall sections by “eye” and then measuring and repositioning, the present invention will increase accuracy by automatically positioning the wall perpendicular to the floor. In addition, use of the present invention will reduce the number of nails on the job site, and will promote safety and efficiency. Use of the present invention in a preferred
Glessner Brian E.
Stephan Beth A.
LandOfFree
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