Frame assembly using master rib with positionable cleats

A frame assembly, such as for an awning or canopy, includes a master rib having identical keyways running the longitudinal length of the rib. Each keyway is defined by an opposing pair of sidewalls extending lengthwise in the longitudinal direction. The sidewalls are each formed integrally with a plurality of threadlines extending in the longitudinal direction which face opposite from and are offset in the depthwise direction by a given pitch from those of the other sidewall, so as to form threadable surfaces for a screw to be threaded therein. A cleat member has a body portion with a depthwise bore so that a threaded screw can be inserted depthwise and project from its lower end into the keyway and the master rib. The cleat member can be fastened to the master rib at any position along its longitudinal length. The cleat member preferably has a mating cleat which projects from the lower end into the keyway, or brackets against the sides of the master rib wall, so as to guide and hold the cleat member firmly in position. The cleat member can then be fastened to a lateral arm, cross rib, angle rib, hinged member, or other frame part. The frame assembly is used to construct an awning support system or a canopy system without any need for welding at the installation site, and can be readily disassembled and reassembled. In a further embodiment, the keyway is provided with smooth walls and a self-tapping or similar screw forms threads in the walls as the screw is advanced into the keyway.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention generally relates to a frame assembly, such as used to 
support an awning or canopy, and more particularly, to an assembly using a 
master rail with positionable cleats. 
BACKGROUND ART 
Frame assemblies for awning, canopy, or side enclosure systems may be 
free-standing or mounted to the wall or frame of a building and generally 
have struts or ribs which are joined at their ends to a cross rib or rail 
so as to create a support for stretching and holding an awning, canopy or 
cover thereon. In conventional systems, the cross rib and ribs or struts 
are manufactured in fixed lengths and must be welded together at the 
installation site. This makes it difficult to adapt the awning structure 
to different sizes of storefronts or areas to be covered. One proposed 
system, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,605 to Milliken et al., avoids the 
problem of fixed sizes by providing tubular rails and support arms which 
can be cut to the desired dimensions and welded together at the building 
site. However, welding of the awning structure requires that welding 
equipment be available, thereby making installation of the awning 
inconvenient. 
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a frame 
assembly for an awning or canopy which is readily adaptable to different 
lengths and sizes and is capable of installation without the need for any 
welding. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the invention, a frame assembly includes a master rib 
extending a given length in a longitudinal direction and having a keyway 
formed in a wall thereof running the length of the rib and extending in a 
depthwise direction into the rib. The keyway is defined by an opposing 
pair of sidewalls extending lengthwise in the longitudinal direction. The 
sidewalls are each formed integrally with a plurality of threadlines 
extending in the longitudinal direction which face opposite from and are 
offset in the depthwise direction by a given pitch from those of the other 
sidewall, so as to form threadable surfaces for a screw to be threaded 
therein. A cleat member includes a body portion having a depthwise bore 
therethrough in which a screw of a given length is inserted from an upper 
end so as to extend depthwise through the cleat member and project from a 
lower end wherein the screw is threaded via said threadable surfaces of 
said keyway fixedly into said master rib, so as to thereby fasten said 
cleat member to said master rib in any selected position along the 
longitudinal length thereof. 
The cleat member preferably has a key or mating cleat which projects from 
the lower end of the cleat member into the keyway, or brackets against the 
sides of the master rib wall, so as to guide and hold the cleat member 
firmly in position and prevent its rotation on the screw axis. The cleat 
member is used to hold a cross rib at a right or other predetermined angle 
to the master rib. In one embodiment, the cross rib is abutted against one 
lateral side of the cleat member and fastened thereto via a threaded 
screw. In other preferred embodiments, the cross rib is formed with an 
open end and tubular cross-section which sleeves over the cleat member, 
and the cross rib is fastened to the cleat member by means of tapping 
screws threaded into aligned holes formed in the cross rib and in the 
cleat member. An angle rib assembly can be formed by using the cleat 
member to hold a leaf portion of a hinged member to the master rib, while 
a coupled fastener portion is fastened to the angle rib. 
In one embodiment, the master rib is preferably formed with a square 
tubular cross-section and identical threaded keyways on three sides, with 
the fourth side having a finished surface for an aesthetic appearance. 
Alternatively, the master rib is formed with a tubular cross-section (and 
identical threaded keyways) of any one of the following shapes, namely 
square, rectangle, diamond, round, round with flat sides, bullet and 
square with round edges. The keyways or screw tracks can be one or more 
per side and on one or more or all sides. The keyways allow the fastening 
point of the cleat member on the master rib to be at any position along 
its length. Thus, the frame assembly can be erected entirely without 
welding, simply by fastening the cleat members in the proper positions and 
cutting the master rib to the desired length. The cleat members are hidden 
by the adjoining ribs. 
In a further embodiment, said keyway is provided with smooth walls and a 
self-tapping or similar screw forms threads in said walls as said screw is 
advanced into said keyway. 
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will 
become apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode 
of practising the invention when considered in conjunction with the 
drawings, as follows:

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In FIG. 1, a frame assembly includes a master rib 10 extending a given 
length in a longitudinal direction L and having at least one keyway 10a 
formed in one side wall 11a, a cleat member 20, a threaded screw 21, and a 
lateral rib or cross rib 12. The keyway 10a runs the length of the rib and 
extends in a depthwise direction D into the rib 10. The keyway 10a is 
defined by an opposing pair of sidewalls 13a, 13b extending lengthwise in 
the longitudinal direction L. The sidewalls 13a, 13b are each formed 
integrally with a plurality of threadlines 19a, 19b, respectively, 
extending in the longitudinal direction L which face opposite from and are 
offset in the depthwise direction D by a given pitch from those of the 
other sidewall, so as to form threadable surfaces for the screw 21 to be 
threaded therein. 
The master rib 10 is preferably formed with a tubular cross-section and 
identical threaded keyways 10a on three sides, with the fourth side having 
a finished surface for an aesthetic appearance. The cross-section can have 
the shape of a square, rectangle, diamond, round, round with flat sides, 
bullet, square with round edges or any other analogous shape. The cleat 
member 20 includes a body portion having a depthwise bore 18 therethrough 
in which the screw 21 is inserted from its upper end so as to extend 
depthwise through the cleat member 20 and project from its lower end. The 
screw 21 is threaded via the threadable surfaces of the keyway so as to be 
fixedly fastened into the master rib 10 at any selected position along the 
longitudinal length thereof. 
The cleat member 20 preferably has a key or mating cleat 13 (in split 
portions on either side of the bore 18) which projects from the lower end 
of the cleat member into the keyway 10a, so as to guide and hold the cleat 
member 20 firmly in position and prevent its rotation on the screw axis. 
The cleat member 20 is used to hold the lateral rib or cross rib 12 at a 
right or other predetermined angle to the master rib. In the embodiment 
shown, the cross rib 12 is formed with an open end and tubular 
cross-section which sleeves over the cleat member 20, and the cross rib 12 
is fastened to the cleat member 20 by means of tapping screws 30 threaded 
into aligned holes 32 (only one of which is shown) formed in the cross rib 
12 and the bore 22 in the cleat member 20. 
The keyways allow the fastening point of the cleat member on the master rib 
to be at any position along its length. Thus, the frame assembly can be 
erected entirely without welding, simply by fastening the cleat members in 
the proper positions and cutting the master rib to the desired length. The 
cleat members are also hidden from view by sleeving the cross ribs over 
the cleat members. 
In FIG. 2, another version of the cleat member 20' has saddle-type cleats 
34a, 34b which bracket over the sides of one wall 36a of a rib or rail 35. 
The threaded screw 21 is inserted through the body portion of the cleat 
member 20' and threaded into the wall 36a of the rib or rail 35. Tapping 
screws 30 are secured through the holes 32 in the rib 12 and into the 
threaded channel 33 formed in the cleat member 20'. 
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing a cleat 20 being joined to the 
front rib or rail 16 of an awning using a cleat member 20 at each corner 
joint with the lateral arms. The cleat 20 has the two bores 22 and 23 
oriented perpendicular to each other. The rail is formed from hollow 
tubing having one or more keyways 10a formed in its walls on respective 
sides thereof. The tubing is preferably made of metal, but can also be 
made of high strength plastic or composite material. The cleat 20 is 
fastened to the rail 16 by the screw 21 threaded rail. The screw 21 has a 
hex head which is hidden in the recessed cavity 23. 
In the preferred embodiment, the rail 16 is formed from square tubing with 
identical keyways 10a on three sides, and a stapling groove 10b on the 
fourth side. The rail 16 can also be formed with keyways distributed 
around tubing of round or other polygonal profile for different angles 
between the cleat positions and the groove 10b. A sealing strip 17 is 
press-fitted or snapped into the groove 10b (in the direction of arrow A) 
in order to hold the fabric therein and seal the groove against water 
penetration which may deteriorate the fastening of the leading end of the 
fabric. The sealing strip 17 can have slots or grooves 17a for 
snap-fitting with projections 16c formed at the open end of the groove 
10b. 
The use of the cleat member 20 and threaded and tapping screw forms a 
strong, rigid joint of the lateral arm with the rail, and entirely 
eliminates the need for welding. The cleat members are also hidden behind 
the adjoining arm and rail for an aesthetic appearance. The extension of 
the keyways 10a along the length of the rib allows the rail to be cut to 
any desired length, so that the fastening point of the cleat member 20 to 
rail can be formed at any position along its length, thereby facilitating 
installation for different sizes of frames from standard parts. 
In FIG. 4, a cleat member 20" for holding a lacing or reinforcing rod 40 is 
formed as a flat plate 36 having a center rod-holding section 37 and 
mounting holes for two threaded screws 21 which thread into the threaded 
surfaces of the keyway 10a and into the rib 10. The plate 36 also has a 
key (not shown) on its lower end which guides and holds the cleat member 
20" in the keyway 10a of the rib 10, as described previously. 
In FIG. 5, an angle rib assembly is formed by using a cleat member 20 
fastened into the keyway 10a of the master rib 10 through a leaf 40a of 
an internal fastening member 40. The leaf 40a has a ball pin which slides 
into a correspondingly shaped socket of the member 40, and a key 40b. The 
member 40 is fastened into an angle rib 41 which has a tubular 
cross-section that sleeves over the member 40. Tapping screws 43 are 
inserted through the holes 42 formed in the angle rib and a slotted recess 
39 formed in the hinged member 40. When fastened to the angle rib 41, the 
leaf 40a and member 40 are unable to slide apart. Angles of 15 degrees to 
70 degrees can be obtained with this construction. The key 40b is adapted 
to fit into the keyway 10a, and has an angle from 15 degrees to 70 
degrees. 
In FIGS. 6A and 6B, a dome assembly 50 is formed using the concept of the 
present invention. The dome assembly has a plurality of (here eight) 
radial ribs 52 and a master rib 53 in the form of a semicircular base. The 
radial ribs are fastened together at a central point of the dome assembly 
by means of a radius connecting plate 56 having respective arms 56a for 
each rib and screws 57 which are threaded through the respective arms 56a 
into the keyways 10a of the respective ribs. The bottom ends of the radial 
ribs are fastened to the master rib 53 by sleeving over and fastening to 
the respective cleat members, as previously described. 
In FIG. 7, a vertical rib assembly 60 is shown such as might be used for a 
greenhouse or other light-weight enclosure. The vertical rib assembly has 
master ribs 61 which define the main longitudinal frame supports for the 
assembly. Vertical ribs 62 and cross rib 63 are fastened by cleat members 
to the main ribs 61, as described with reference to FIG. 1. Offset ribs 
64, with saddle cleats described with reference to FIG. 2, are fastened at 
intermediate positions on the cross ribs 63 in order to support the cross 
ribs at positions recessed from the master ribs. 
FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a master rib 16' having 
keyways 10a'. Rather than having threadlines, such as threadlines 19a and 
19b of keyway 10a on FIGS. 1 and 3, keyways 10a' have smooth walls. With 
such a construction, screw 21 would be provided as a self-tapping or a 
self-threading screw which would be threadingly advanced into the floor of 
a keyway 10a'. Walls of keyways 10a' may be spaced such that the threads 
of self-tapping or self-threading screw 21 will cut into and threadingly 
engage the walls. 
The frame assembly with cleat fasteners in accordance with the present 
invention can thus be used to construct awning frames, canopy frames, 
glass enclosures, show displays, sign frames, greenhouses, partitions, 
structural and non-structural framed walls, and tents without welding, 
brazing, or soldering. The awning canopy, dome, or enclosure frames, for 
example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, may be freestanding or attached to a 
wall of a building. The components of the system can be made of aluminum, 
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, pulltrusions, copper, brass, steel, or 
any other material having structural strength which can be formed into the 
shape needed. The keyways of the master ribs are dimensioned to receive 
and apply the proper pressure for threading of the screw fasteners. The 
screw fasteners are generally threaded through the bottom floor of the 
keyways through the wall of the master rib for greater holding pressure. 
The lateral rib and cross ribs can then be readily fastened to the 
positioned cleat member using tapping screws. The aligned holes in the 
cross ribs and cleat members can even be drilled at the installation site. 
The holes can also be tapped to accept standard machine bolts or screws 
instead of self-tapping bolts or screws. 
The bolts or screws can be removed and the assembly can be disassembled if 
necessary and/or reinstalled. This allows a dealer to pre-assemble any 
size frame in the shop and disassemble it for shipping. The simple 
construction, flexible positioning, and interchangeability of the parts of 
the system allows any structure to be assembled very quickly and easily. 
Numerous modifications and variations are of course possible in light of 
the principles of the invention disclosed above. All such modifications 
and variations are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of 
the invention, as defined in the following claims.