Connection fitting

Abstract

The invention relates to a connecting fitting (3) for connecting two components (1, 2) at two mutually facing flat connecting surfaces, wherein the connecting fitting (3) comprises a groove fitting (4) and a complementary spring fitting (5). Parallel to the longitudinal direction of the groove (8) and spring (9), a screw channel (10) extends in the groove fitting (4) and the spring fitting (5), the outer surface of which is formed by both a surface area of ​​the groove fitting (4) and a surface area of ​​the spring fitting (5), the boundary lines between these two surface areas running parallel to the longitudinal direction of the screw channel (10), and wherein a threaded bolt (11) is screwed into the screw channel (10), which engages in threads with both the groove fitting (4) and the spring fitting (5).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a connecting fitting for connecting two components at two mutually facing flat connecting surfaces.

[0002] Typically, this connection is used in construction to anchor a vertically oriented end face of a horizontally oriented, wooden beam to a flat connecting surface of another component that is parallel to the end face.

[0003] DE 19849152 A1 and DE 202012101289 U1 disclose mullion-transom connectors for facade construction, according to which a connecting fitting consists of two profile parts. One profile part—which is connected to a lateral surface of the vertically extending mullion by screws—has an undercut groove, and the second profile part—which is connected to an end face of the horizontally extending transom by screws—has a profile tongue. To connect the two fitting parts, they are pushed into one another in the profile direction of both fittings so that the profile tongue lies in the profile groove. A screw is then screwed into each of the remaining profile gaps, the lateral surface of which is bounded by both profile parts, and the screw runs in the longitudinal direction of the profile. The profile direction of the profile parts is horizontal.

[0004] According to DE 202 18 592 U1, the connecting surfaces of the two components to be joined are vertical, parallel to each other, and facing each other. The connecting fitting comprises two flat fitting parts and screws, each of which passes through one flat fitting part and into one of the components to be joined, in order to rigidly anchor the respective flat fitting part to the respective component. The two flat fitting parts are held together by a so-called dovetail joint. For this purpose, the first flat fitting part has a groove running parallel to its plane, which is open longitudinally towards a side edge of the fitting part's surface and whose cross-sectional width at the bottom of the groove is greater than at the opening of the groove.The second flat fitting component has an elongated, raised projection running parallel to its plane. The cross-sectional width of this projection is smaller at its base than at the point furthest from the base. The width of the raised portion of the projection's cross-sectional area is greater than the width of the groove's cross-sectional area at the groove opening. The projection can be inserted lengthwise into the groove on the first fitting component from its open end face, but it cannot be removed from the groove by a movement perpendicular to its longitudinal direction.

[0005] In the most common mounting method, the flat fitting part with the groove is fixed to the stationary component such that the open end face of the groove is at the top and the opening surface of the groove faces away from the stationary component. The second flat fitting part is mounted to the movable component such that the raised, elongated projection faces away from the movable component. The movable component is then lowered along the stationary component so that the projection on the second flat component slides into the groove on the first flat component until the lower end face of the projection rests against the lower end face of the groove.

[0006] The same fitting parts also allow for the complementary mounting method without disadvantages, in which the fitting part having the groove is mounted on the movable component with the end face of the groove open downwards and the fitting part having the projection is mounted on the stationary component.

[0007] EP 2093 334 B1 also shows a generic construction method. According to Figure 8B therein, the two flat components are fixed to each other by a screw in addition to the dovetail joint. This screw extends in a screw channel that runs parallel to the longitudinal directions of the groove and projection, with one section of the length of the screw channel running in the flat component having the groove and a further section adjoining it in the longitudinal direction of the screw channel running in the flat component having the projection.

[0008] EP 1 764 447 A2 discloses a connecting fitting for joining two components at two opposing flat connecting surfaces. The connecting fitting comprises two profile parts, each with a hook-shaped curved profile wall, and several screws. When the connection is made, the two profile parts are anchored to each of the components to be joined by screws that pass through the profile parts perpendicular to their profile direction, and the hook-shaped curved profile walls interlock. This interlock is secured by a screw that runs parallel to the profile direction of both profile parts within the volume enclosed by both hook-shaped curved profile walls and bears against both hook-shaped curved profile walls. Despite some advantages, the connecting fitting's relatively low static load-bearing capacity is problematic.

[0009] It is common practice, when a component is a horizontally arranged wooden beam and one end face of it is a connecting surface, to align the required screws at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the beam.

[0010] A particular disadvantage of the described design, especially when used to connect the end faces of horizontal beams, is that the respective pairs of fittings either only fit well for a precisely defined cross-sectional height of the beam, or that a single component connection requires the use of multiple, relatively small pairs of fittings, which must be mounted one above the other at intervals on the connection surfaces. This leads to a loss of effective connection area, difficult-to-meet accuracy requirements when positioning the fittings, and often also to challenging maneuvers during beam assembly.

[0011] The object underlying the invention is to improve the described construction method in such a way that it can be better adapted to connection surfaces of different heights while still allowing simple and statically sound assembly.

[0012] To solve the problem, the known combination of features is assumed, namely that the connecting fitting to be arranged between the mutually parallel and vertically aligned connecting surfaces has two mutually complementary fitting parts, namely a groove fitting and a spring fitting, each of which is rigidly anchored to the respective connecting surface of one of the components to be joined, wherein the groove fitting has a groove which is open only on one end face and whose flanks (lateral boundary surfaces of the groove) have an overhanging surface area, and wherein the spring fitting has an elongated projection, further referred to as a "spring", whose two lateral flank surfaces also each have an overhanging surface area.wherein in the installed position the longitudinal directions of the tongue and groove are aligned parallel to each other (usually vertically) and wherein the tongue is inserted longitudinally into the groove and projects with its two lateral flank surfaces into the area covered by the overhanging flank surfaces of the groove.

[0013] (In the context of groove flanks, "overhanging surface area" means that the groove has a cross-sectional area in which the width of the groove increases with increasing groove depth. In the context of the tongue, "overhanging surface area" means that the cross-sectional area of ​​the profile-like elongated projection representing the tongue has an area in which its width increases with increasing distance from the base of the projection. Therefore, in these applications of the word "overhanging," it is irrelevant how the groove or tongue is actually arranged in space.)

[0014] As a further development according to the invention relating to these features, it is proposed to provide a screw channel which runs parallel to the longitudinal direction of the groove fitting and the spring fitting in both fittings, wherein the cylindrical surface of the screw channel is formed by both a surface area of ​​the groove fitting and a surface area of ​​the spring fitting, wherein the boundary lines between these two surface areas run parallel to the longitudinal direction of the screw channel and wherein a threaded bolt is inserted into the screw channel which is in thread engagement with both the groove fitting and the spring fitting.

[0015] This measure ensures that the weight of the component supported by the connecting fitting is transferred across the entire height of the fitting between the groove fitting and the spring fitting – and not just at the point where the closed end face of the groove and one end face of the spring meet. By distributing the force transmission across the entire height of the connecting fitting, both the groove fitting and the spring fitting are very simply assembled as a straight, linear sequence of fitting elements, using a larger or smaller number of elements as required. The fitting elements are aligned so that the screw channel extends in a straight line through all of them.

[0016] By allowing several identical fitting elements to be mounted directly adjacent to each other on a connecting surface of a component, a space-saving design is possible and the exact alignment of the fitting elements to each other is simple.

[0017] Preferably, the common contact surfaces of identical fitting elements to be arranged next to each other are not simply flat, but rather have complementary surface structures so that they only fit snugly together when in their optimal relative position. This ensures that, as with a snap-fit ​​or plug-in connection, the fitting elements can be easily brought into their optimal position during assembly without any additional tools, since they then have contact surfaces in at least one direction for each degree of freedom of movement to prevent unwanted displacement.

[0018] Preferably, two screw channels are provided for each pair of groove fitting and tongue fitting, the outer surface of which is formed by surface areas of both fittings. More preferably, these two screw channels are each located on a flank surface of the groove and the tongue.

[0019] The invention is illustrated with reference to drawings of an advantageous embodiment according to the invention and explained in detail: Fig. 1 shows a stylized cross-sectional view through the components to be joined and a first exemplary connecting fitting according to the invention. The section plane lies parallel to the cross-sectional planes of the tongue and groove of the connecting fitting – i.e., horizontally in the usual installation method. Fig. 2 shows a stylized view of the connecting fitting. Fig. 1 The groove fitting and the spring fitting side by side. Fig. 3: shows the connecting fitting according to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 including screws in a opposite Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 less stylized perspective view.

[0020] According to Fig. 1 A first component 1 and a second component 2 are connected by means of a connecting fitting 3 according to the invention, wherein the connecting fitting is arranged between two mutually facing, parallel planar surfaces of the components 1, 2 and rests against these two surfaces.

[0021] The connecting fitting 3 includes a groove fitting 4, a spring fitting 5 and various screws or threaded bolts. Sometimes screws or threaded bolts are only symbolically represented, namely by dashed lines.

[0022] The groove fitting 4 is rigidly fixed to component 1 by screws 6, which pass through screw holes in it and into component 1. The spring fitting 5 is rigidly fixed to component 2 by screws 7, which pass through screw holes in it and into component 2.

[0023] The groove fitting 4 has a groove 8 with overhanging flanks. The spring fitting 5 has a spring 9 – i.e., a profile-like projection – which is inserted into the groove 8 and whose cross-sectional areas extend into both cross-sectional areas of the groove 8 covered by the overhanging flank surfaces of the groove.

[0024] A surface area of ​​the groove fitting 4 and a surface area of ​​the spring fitting 5 together define two screw channels 10 such that the boundary lines between the two surface areas run parallel to the longitudinal direction of the screw channels 10. The longitudinal direction of the screw channels 10 is parallel to the longitudinal direction (=profile direction) of groove 8 and spring 9.

[0025] Each of the screw channels 10 has a threaded bolt 11 screwed into it. The external thread of the threaded bolt 11 is designed as a self-tapping or self-tapping thread, i.e., when the threaded bolt is screwed into the screw channel 10, the corresponding nut thread is formed in it.

[0026] The intersection of the cylindrical surface of the screw channel 10 with a plane perpendicular to the axis of the screw channel 10 extends partially over a surface of the spring fitting 5 and partially over a surface of the groove fitting 4. The individual threads of the threaded bolt 11 thus each run within a nut thread, which extends partially within the spring fitting 5 and partially within the groove fitting 4. With each thread, the threaded bolt 11 transmits forces between the spring fitting 5 and the groove fitting 4, which are aligned parallel to the axis of the threaded bolt 11. This ensures that the transfer of the weight force from one of the components 1, 2 to the other occurs not only at the closed end of the groove 8 of the groove fitting 4, but over the entire height of both the groove fitting 4 and the spring fitting 5. This avoids local stress concentrations and significantly increases the load-bearing capacity.

[0027] In Fig. 2 The screw through holes for the mentioned screws 6, 7 are also visible in groove fitting 4 and spring fitting 5.

[0028] Also in Fig. 2 It is clearly evident that the groove fitting 4 is formed from a series of fitting elements 12, 13, which are arranged abutting each other longitudinally in the groove 8. The fitting elements 12 are identical to each other. The specially designed end fitting element 13 is arranged only at one end of the groove fitting 4. At the end fitting element 13, the groove 8 has a closed end – and thus a stop surface to prevent the spring 9 of the spring fitting 5 from sliding out of the groove 8.

[0029] Preferably, the cross-sectional area of ​​the groove 8 in the region of the end fitting 13 is continuously tapered towards the end face of the groove 8. The purpose of this – in Fig. 2The clearly visible taper 14 is designed to force the cross-sectional area of ​​the spring of the spring fitting, which is slightly smaller than the cross-sectional area of ​​the groove 8 in its non-tapered region, into a precisely defined position relative to the cross-sectional area of ​​the groove 8 and to hold it in this position while the threaded bolts 11 are screwed into the screw channels 10. Ideally, the groove 8 in the end fitting 13 tapers to a cross-sectional area into which the cross-sectional area of ​​the spring 9 fits without play.

[0030] The spring fitting 5 also consists of a series of fitting elements 15, all of which can be exactly the same and which are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction of the spring 9, lying against each other.

[0031] Preferably, as shown, the common contact surfaces of identical fitting elements 12; 12 and 13; 15 to be arranged next to each other are not simply flat, but have complementary surface structures so that they only fit snugly together when in the optimal relative position. This makes it easy to position the fitting elements to be arranged next to each other precisely, even without a positioning gauge or complex measurements.

[0032] The design of the connecting fitting 3 according to the invention makes it very easy to adjust it to the height of the respective connecting surfaces between the components 1, 2 to be joined, and thus (indirectly) also to the magnitude of the load to be transferred, by selecting the number of fitting elements 12, 15 to be arranged in a row. The joining of the components 1, 2, each provided with halves of the connecting fitting 3, always occurs in the same simple manner: one component is moved linearly and straight along the other component parallel to the orientation of the groove 8 and the tongue 9, so that the tongue 9 is threaded into the groove 8.

[0033] Typically, the groove fitting 4 and spring fitting 5 are made of aluminium.

Claims

1. Connecting fitting (3) for connecting two components (1, 2) to two level connecting surfaces that are facing one another, wherein the connecting fitting (3) comprises a groove fitting (4) and a complementary tongue fitting (5), each of which is to be rigidly anchored to the respective connecting surface of one of the components that is to be connected (1, 2), wherein the groove fitting (4) has a groove (8) that is open only on a front side and the flanks of which have an overhanging surface area, and wherein the tongue fitting (5) has a tongue (9), both lateral flank surfaces of which have an overhanging surface area, wherein, in the installed position, the longitudinal directions of groove (8) and tongue (9) are aligned parallel to one another and wherein the tongue (9) is inserted into the groove (8) in the longitudinal direction and protrudes with its two lateral flank surfaces into the area covered by the overhanging flank areas of the groove (8), wherein, parallel to the longitudinal direction of groove (8) and tongue (9), there is a screw channel (10) in the groove fitting (4) and tongue fitting (5), the lateral surface of which is formed by a surface area of the groove fitting (4) and by a surface area of the tongue fitting (5), wherein the boundaries between these two surface areas run parallel to the longitudinal direction of the screw channel (10) and wherein the screw channel (10) has a threaded bolt (11) screwed into it that is engaged in the thread of both the groove fitting (4) and the tongue fitting (5), characterised in that both the groove fitting (4) and the tongue fitting (5) have several fitting elements (12; 15), which are aligned in a row in the longitudinal direction of groove (8) and tongue (9) and lie flush with one another.

2. Connecting fitting according to claim 1, characterised in that the contact surfaces of fitting elements (12, 15) do not simply have a flat shape, but each have surface structures that complement one another.

3. Connecting fitting according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that, at the end of a row of fitting elements (12) of the groove fitting (4), an end fitting element (13) is arranged that has a wall that represents a frontal end of the groove (8).

4. Connecting fitting according to claim 3, characterised in that the groove (8) also runs into the end connecting fitting (13), but has a taper (14) at this point, in which the cross-sectional surface of the groove (8) continuously tapers in such a way that it surrounds the cross-sectional surface of the tongue (9) without play.

5. Connecting fitting according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the connecting fitting has two of these screw channels (10) and that these screw channels (10) are located in the area of the flanks of groove (8) and tongue (9).

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