Coupling device for building structures

Feb. 6, 1951 g. w. anderson 2,540,468

COUPLING DEVICE FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES

Filed Jan. 12, 1949

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Patented Feb. 6, 1951

2,540,468

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,540,468

COUPLING DEVICE FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES

George W. Anderson, Port Washington, N. Y.

Application January 12, 1949, Serial No. 70,442

Claims. (CI. 20—4)

This invention relates to the construction and assembly of building structures, such as wall sections, and to means for coupling together the building structures.

The Avails and other structures of prefabricated 5 constructions are commonly manufactured in sections which are complete and ready to assemble by the builder. In order to assure proper erection and assembly of such structures it is an object of the present invention to construct 10 the sections with coupling means which will assure that the wall surfaces of abutting sections will be flush with each other, and also that the upper and lower edges of the sections will be correctly aligned when the coupling means are 15 joined. Wall structures having a veneered or otherwise finished surface requiring no other finishing or covering may thereby be readily erected without requiring exceptional skill on the part of the builder to obtain flush surfaces 20 at the several joints in a wall.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide coupling means suitable for forcibly bringing and holding together structures and which are adapted for the ready demountability and re- ²⁵assembly of the structures whenever desired^

Another object of the invention is to provide means for enabling the joining together of prefabricated building members in such a manner as to permit compensation for any dimensional so irregularity which may be present in a series of building members such as are employed in the erection of a wall.

Other objects and uses of the invention will appear from a detailed description of the same 35 which consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The drawings show by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the principle of the in- 40 vention and the best mode which has been contemplated for applying that principle.

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of joined wall sections employing the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2—2 of Fig. 1 and 45 illustrates the coupling means;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the coupling means illustrated in Fig. 2 taken on a plane at right angles thereto;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4—4 of Fig. 3; 60

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5—5 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the relationship of the building members and of the coupling means before they are engaged.

In Fig. 1 there is illustrated a pair of pre- 65 fabricated building structures or members 10 and 11 such as are used in the construction of a wall. Each building member comprises spaced panels ί 2 and ί 3 which may be made of plywood or of other panel material. These panels are fastened by screws or by gluing to opposite sides of a frame comprising a sill and a header 14, studs 15, !B, II and IS, a plurality of cats ί 9 between the studs, and bracing blocks such as are shown at 20 and 21. The panels may be otherwise constructed, although the present invention is well suited for the erection of prefabricated members of the kind described as well as other forms of building members.

In erecting wall sections it is important that the sections be firmly connected together and in proper alignment, and the means for accomplishing this must constitute a construction which can be easily manipulated and which will require the least amount of adjustment by the builder. The coupling means of the present invention includes a bolt or spindle 22 having a thread 23 at one end and a tongue 24 projecting from its other end. The broad flat surfaces of the tongue are parallel and equally spaced from the axis of the spindle. A hole 25 is located in the tongue on the axis of the spindle. The threaded end of the spindle 2i is engaged by a T-nut 28 which is permanently seated in a block 21. The block 21 is securely fastened to the stud 15 and a hole is drilled through the block and the stud to accommodate the shank of the spindle 22, as more clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The several holes which receive the spindles are of such size as to snugly engage the spindles. The holes are normal to the exposed surface of the edge of the building structure and are accurately located with respect to the inside or finished surface and the height of the building section by a jig. Before bringing two building sections together the spindle may be translated longitudinally of its axis by rotating the spindle to extend the tongue 24 beyond the exposed surface of the stud 15 the distance desired.

The complementary end of an adjoining building member carries a block 28 which ^zis fastened to the stud i8. A block 28 is located opposite each block 27. A slot 29 of sufficient width and depth to accommodate the tongue 24 is cut through the block 28 and the stud 18 in a plane parallel to the broad faces of the building members. The slot is accurately located on the axis of the spindle 22 by a jig.

The block 28 is drilled to provide a hole 30 in which a metallic bushing 31 is mounted. The

2,540,468 hole 28 and the bushing 3t are so located that their axis will intersect the axis of the spindle 22 when the building members are correctly aligned with respect to each other. The bushing 31 serves as a bearing for centering and guiding a lag bolt or a set screw 32. The only opening in the plane face of a panel consists of a single hole 33 for each coupling means through which the screw is inserted. By locating the axis of the spindle, the slot 29 and the bushing 31 with respect to each other and to the edges of the building structures in the mill in which the structures are fabricated, correct alignment of the assembled sections will be assured without necessitating particular care on the part of the erector.

For assembling and adjusting the coupling means the spindle is screwed into the nut 26 to the extent required to locate the axis of the hole 25 in the tongue 24 eccentric to the axis of the screw 32, as shown in Fig. 6. The two building members are then brought edge to edge with the tongue 24 extending into the slot 29. The screw is then inserted into the bushing and caused to engage the hole 25 in the tongue. By rotating the screw the spindle 22 is drawn towards the screw 32 as the tapered end of the screw advances through the hole 25 in the tongue. The building members can thereby be powerfully pressed together.

Because of the tapered end of the screw 32, a considerable amount of movement of the spindle may be taken up, but it will be understood that the hole 25 and tongue 24 may be adjustably located with respect to the axis of the screw 32 by turning the spindle in the nut 26 before the building members are brought together.

The usual manufacturing tolerances allowed in the manufacture of large building sections sometimes results in varying the over-all dimensional specifications for a completed wall. In order to compensate for any irregularity which may appear during the construction of a wall, the adjoining edges of sections are covered with a strip of compressible material 34, such as a water-proof paper gasket which may be buttered with an elastic-type mastic. A gasket· of such material will provide sufficient compressibility to enable proper correction.

A wall constructed in accordance with the invention is not subject to the production of squeaks originating at the contacting edges of assembled sections when the wall is subjected to varying wind pressure. This is because of the pressure of the gaskets and the powerful clamping forces which can be applied by the coupling devices.