Seismic damping devices for wooden houses

Abstract

To improve the seismic resistance of older wooden houses, we provide a seismic damping structure that can be easily installed from the inside without removing walls or other structures. [Solution] A seismic damping device 1 is installed in the corner of a rectangular space 26 composed of columns, beams, etc., of a wooden house. To enable installation from the interior side, metal mounting members 11 and 12 are attached to the interior surface of adjacent structural members of the rectangular space 26, and metal plate spring materials 13 and 14, which have flexible parts 17 made of wave-shaped irregularities 15 and 16 that absorb earthquake tremors, are integrally attached to adjacent structural members.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a seismic isolation device that is attached to the surface parts of columns, beams, foundations, etc. visible from the interior of a wooden house, especially a wooden house with a high number of years of construction and insufficient seismic resistance, without major incidental work such as removal of wall materials, to protect the wooden house from earthquake shaking.

Background Art

[0002] Conventional seismic reinforcement of wooden houses has been carried out by attaching wooden cross braces to a rectangular space surrounded by horizontal members such as columns and beams for seismic reinforcement. In recent years, there has been a call for improving the seismic resistance of wooden houses, and improvements such as increasing the cross-sectional area of the cross braces or making the cross braces cross to form a truss structure have been attempted.

[0003] Furthermore, in order to further improve seismic resistance, improvements such as using metal cross braces or attaching them via a seismic isolation device such as a metal damper device with a viscoelastic material sandwiched between the ends of the metal cross braces have been attempted.

[0004] As a seismic isolation device, Japanese Patent No. 4195462 of Patent Document 1 discloses a seismic isolation construction method using steel plate springs that are curved in arc shapes with different curvatures across the corners of a structural frame, and are overlapped with the same bending direction to form a crescent-shaped space between them.

[0005] In another example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-235457 (Patent Document 2), a seismic isolation device is disclosed that is formed from a deformation part that absorbs displacement of a joint part with a shape bent in the in-plane direction or out-of-plane direction of the frame structure.

[0006] These conventional seismic isolation or damping devices are installed on the inner surface of the rectangular space formed by structural members such as columns and beams, primarily in wooden houses. Therefore, they are intended to be installed during new construction when the structural members are exposed. When installed during renovation, it requires work such as removing and rebuilding wall materials, which makes widespread adoption difficult due to the time and cost involved. The lack of easy-to-install and inexpensive earthquake countermeasures available for older wooden houses, such as those 40 or 50 years old, also contributes to the delay in earthquake countermeasures. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 4195462 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-235457 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] The aforementioned seismic-resistant or seismic-damping devices for wooden houses are mainly installed during new construction. These devices are attached to the inner surfaces of the columns and beams within the rectangular space after the structural members of the wooden house, such as columns and beams, have been assembled. Subsequently, reinforcing materials such as plywood are attached to the columns and beams to construct load-bearing walls and improve seismic resistance.

[0009] As mentioned earlier, these conventional seismic-resistant and seismic-damping devices are installed during new construction or major home renovations that involve removing wall materials. Renovations require additional work such as removing and rebuilding wall materials, resulting in longer construction periods and higher costs. This is a major factor hindering earthquake countermeasures, especially in older wooden houses where elderly people live.

[0010] The present invention aims to provide a seismic damping device that can be installed quickly and inexpensively, even in older wooden houses where earthquake countermeasures such as seismic reinforcement have not progressed due to construction time and cost considerations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The seismic damping device of the present invention, which solves the above problems, is a seismic damping device 1 in which metal mounting members 11 and 12, which are attached to the interior side surface of adjacent members of a rectangular space 26 composed of vertical members such as column members 20 and 21 and horizontal members such as beam members 22 and base members 23, are integrally connected by a plurality of metal plate spring members 13 and 14 that have flexible parts 17 provided by wave-shaped protrusions and indentations 15 and 16, and is intended to be realized by attaching them to the interior side surface of the column members 20 and 21 or beam members 22 and base members 23 with screw parts such as large wood screws (coach threads).

[0012] In another approach, by making the heights H1 and H2 of the flexible portion 17 formed by the wavy irregularities 15 and 16 equal to the depth between the interior surface of the column material, etc., in the rectangular space 26 and the surface of the wall material 25 provided in the same space, it is possible to avoid pressing and damaging the surface of the wall material 25 even when the seismic damping device 1 is attached to the column or beam material, making the installation work easier, and the amount of protrusion of the seismic damping device 1 into the interior is limited to about the height of the irregularities, thus avoiding a significant impairment of the functionality of the living space.

[0013] The seismic damping device 1 of the present invention can also be covered by attaching a triangular or square cover made of metal, resin, or the like to the surface of the seismic damping device 1, thereby covering the device and eliminating any sense of incongruity in the indoor space. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] The seismic damping device 1 for wooden houses of the present invention can be attached to the interior surface of columns 20, 21, beams 22, etc., using screw parts such as wood screws (coach threads), and can be installed without removing wall materials 25, etc., so that construction can be completed in a short period of time and earthquake countermeasures can be carried out with little cost burden on the residents.

[0015] In the seismic damping device 1 of the present invention, when an earthquake shakes a wooden house, the rectangular space 26 deforms into a parallelogram shape, and at that time, the flexible parts 17 of the metal plate spring material 13,14 attached to the corners of the rectangular space elastically deform due to expansion and contraction or compression, thereby dampening the earthquake shaking and protecting the wooden house from earthquakes.

[0016] Furthermore, as the earthquake shaking intensifies and the flexible portion 17 of the metal plate spring material 13, 14 is stretched to its limit, the flexible portion 17 of the metal plate spring material 13, 14 gains a reinforcing effect due to its tensile strength rather than its elastic deformation strength.

[0017] As described above, the seismic damping device 1 for wooden houses of the present invention allows metal mounting members 11 and 12 to be attached to the interior surface of columns 20 and 21 and beams 22 using screw parts such as wood screws without removing wall materials 25, etc. This enables earthquake countermeasures to be carried out in a short period of time with minimal cost burden on residents, improving the seismic resistance of older wooden houses and contributing to the safety and security of residents.

[0018] Furthermore, for those with DIY experience, it is easy to attach the seismic damping device 1 of the present invention to columns 20, 21, beams 22, etc., using necessary power tools such as drill drivers and impact drivers, making it possible for residents to take earthquake countermeasures for their own homes themselves. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0019] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the columns, beams, and foundation of a wooden house, the rectangular space formed by these structural members, and the seismic damping device 1 installed at its corner. [Figure 2] This perspective view shows an example of a seismic damping device, consisting of two mounting members with a roughly L-shaped cross-section that are positioned at approximately 90 degrees apart and attached to columns, beams, and foundation materials, and a metal plate spring material with a flexible section provided by wavy protrusions that connects them integrally. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view showing an example in which a seismic damping device is integrally formed, with a mounting section and a metal plate spring material having a flexible section. [Figure 4] It is an explanatory drawing of the wavy unevenness and flexible portions of a metal plate spring material of a seismic isolation device. [Figure 5] It is an explanatory drawing of another example of the wavy unevenness and flexible portions of a metal plate spring material of a seismic isolation device.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail based on examples.

Examples

[0021] An embodiment of the present invention is attached to columns, beams, and foundations of a wooden house as shown in FIG. 1, and at the corners of a rectangular space 26 formed by these structural members. Mounting members 11, 12 having a substantially L-shaped rectangular cross-section and metal plate spring materials 13, 14 provided with flexible portions 17 formed by wavy unevenness 15, 16 are integrally attached to the indoor side surfaces of the mounting members by wood screws or the like.

[0022] The mounting members 11, 12 and the metal plate spring materials 13, 14 provided with flexible portions formed by wavy unevenness are temporarily assembled by small bolts and nuts or riveting, and then attached to structural members such as columns, beams, and foundations with screw parts such as wood screws, thereby improving the efficiency of the attachment work.

[0023] The heights H1, H2 of the wavy concave and convex portions of the metal plate spring materials 13, 14 are approximately 20 mm from the surface of the metal plate spring material from the depth between the surface of the wall material 25 provided in the same space as the indoor side surface of the column material or the like, and it is also preferable from the aspect of processing the metal plate spring material that the widths W1, W2 of the concave and convex portions are about twice the heights of the concave and convex portions. The material of the metal plate spring materials 13, 14 is preferably a stainless steel material with a thickness of about 3 to 5 mm, and by performing rust prevention measures such as plating or painting, general-purpose spring steel or the like can also be used. Also, the mounting members 11, 12 are made of a metal material with a thickness of 2 to 5 mm, but it is preferable that they have the same material as the plate spring material.

Industrial Applicability

[0024] This invention is suitable as a seismic damping device for wooden houses, as it can be installed quickly and inexpensively even in older wooden houses where seismic reinforcement and other earthquake countermeasures have not progressed in terms of construction time and cost. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0025] 1. Seismic damping device 11,12...Mounting components 13,14...Metal plate spring material 15,16...Wave-like unevenness 17...Flexible part 20,21...Column 22...Beam 23...Foundation 25...Wall 26. Rectangular space 27. Wood screws (coach threads) H1, H2... Height of recessed and protruding parts W1, W2... width of recessed and protruding parts

Claims

1. A seismic damping device for a wooden house, characterized in that, in a rectangular space composed of columns and beams and other lateral members of the wooden house, a metal mounting member attached to the interior side of two adjacent members at the corner of the rectangular space is integrally connected by a plurality of metal plate spring materials having flexible parts with wavy protrusions.

2. A seismic damping device for a wooden house, characterized in that the height of the flexible portion due to the wavy irregularities of the metal plate spring material is equal to the depth between the interior surface of a column or the like in the rectangular space and the surface of a wall provided in the same space.

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