Sheet metal tie

Abstract

A tie is designed to secure together in a building structure a vertical stud, a top plate disposed horizontally across the top end of the vertical stud and a rafter extending up from the top plate at an acute angle. The tie is constructed from a unitary sheet metal body which is adapted for securement against at least two surfaces of each of the rafter, the top plate and the vertical stud. The unitary sheet metal body for the tie includes a base, a pair of rafter plates which extend orthogonally upward from opposite sides of the base, and a pair of stud tails which extend orthogonally downward from opposite ends of the base. The base together with the pair of rafter plates define a recess that is sized and shaped to fittingly receive a portion of the rafter. In addition, the base together with the pair of stud tails define a channel which is sized and shaped to fittingly receive at least a portion of the top plate and the vertical stud.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 643,078, filed Jan. 11, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to the construction of buildings and more particularly to metal ties which are used to connect and structurally reinforce the interconnection of wood framing members in a building structure. [0003] Wood framing members are commonly used in construction to define the structural support for a building. Specifically, as seen most clearly in FIG. 1, the wood framing for a building commonly includes a plurality of vertical studs 11 (each commonly constructed from an elongated wooden beam) which are spaced approximately 16 inches apart from one another in a particular configuration to define the outer periphery of the building. In addition, a top plate 13 (also comm...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0015] It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide a sheet metal tie as described above which includes a limited number of parts, which is easy to use and which is inexpensive to manufacture.

Problems solved by technology

However, it should be noted that natural environmental conditions often exert violent and destructive forces onto a building.

In extreme circumstances (e.g, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.), these forces can disconnect the various framing construction members of a building apart from one another which, in turn, can result in significant destruction to the building.

In this manner, the extreme wind forces can literally dislodge the roof from of the remainder of the building, which is highly undesirable.

However, said tie is limited to the connection of only two wood framing members.

Stated another way, said tie is incapable of securing together a stud, a top plate and a rafter (which together serve as the foundation of most conventional building structures).

As a consequence, the relative strength of the connection of said tie with certain wood framing members is less than optimal, which is highly undesirable.

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