A BEAM ANCHORING DEVICE

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for anchoring beams together or to one or more other structural elements. A wedge-shaped beam attachment (10) is intended to straddle respective beams and can be fitted in any selected position along the beam. The attachment includes a short leg (12) and a long leg (14) which define an angle of 90 degrees with one another. An angled collar (16) on the short leg (12) is bent through 90 degrees and the outer end of the long leg (14) is bent through an angle of about 105 degrees. This bent outer end of the long leg (14) forms an abutment spring (18) which fonctions to urge a wedge (23) resiliently against the side edge of a beam.

Description: A Beam Anchoring Device The present invention relates to a device of the kind defined in the preamble of Claim 1. Different types of beams are used as load-bearing devices in building and construction work. The tradi¬ tional I-beam is perhaps the most common beam used in this respect. In the construction of a building, for instance, it is often necessary to anchor different auxiliaries to such beams for a longer or shorter period of time, in order to facilitate building work or to join together various building elements or structural elements which include a profiled beam section or the like. Hitherto, this has been effected, particularly in the case of wooden beams, by nailing the building element concerned to the beams, or by drilling holes and securing said building element with the aid of nuts and bolts. These anchoring methods are relatively time-consuming and the building elements thus anchored cannot be readily released or removed when their functional task has been completed. More¬ over, the strength of the join thus obtained is deter¬ mined arbitrarily, for instance depending on how and where the nails are driven into the beams or where and how the bolts are positioned, and the forces acting in the joins are transferred in a punctiform fashion in the interface between the elements. It is, therefore, desirable to improve the aforesaid anchoring methods with the aid of an anchorage device which can be handled simply, which is cheap to manufacture and which can be quickly anchored to and removed from a load-bearing construction element, for instance an I-beam. The object of the invention is therefore to provide a device of the aforesaid kind which has properties that will eliminate the aforesaid drawbacks. This object is achieved with a device of the kind defined in the preamble and having the characteristic features set forth in the following Claim 1. Thus, the inventive beam anchorage device is a wedge- shaped beam attachment which can be fitted to, i.e. anchored to and removed from, the flanges of an I-beam at any chosen position therealong, said beam includ¬ ing, for instance, elongated wooden elements. The beam need not be provided with any separate attachment point in the form of a machined location, attachment hole, attachment element or any particularly config¬ ured part. Depending on the area of use, the building or structural element to be anchored to the beam is firmly screwed, welded or in some other known manner attached to the outer surface of the beam attachment, which is configured to provide an optimum grip around the edge or edges of the beam. This grip is achieved by virtue of the fact that the attachment is bent from metal sheet, preferably steel plate, suitably surface- treated against corrosion, such as to form a first and a second leg which extend at right angles to one another. The outer extremities of respective legs are bent to a predetermined angle. The second leg is provided with a slot which extends generally at right angles from the outer edge of the leg to roughly the midway point of said leg, said slot being located in the centre part of the attachment. Mounted in the slot is a locking device which can move freely between two limit positions determined by stop means mounted at respective ends of the device. When fitting the attachment, or anchoring device, the locking device is pressed against one edge of a beam to which the attachment shall be fitted and also to the outer edge of the bent leg. Depending on the configuration of the locking device, the length of the bent outer edge and the predetermined value of the angle of the bend, when the attachment is fitted, the pressure forces will act at different angles on different parts of the upper flange of the beam. In this regard, an advantage is afforded when the pressure force is directed in towards the join line between the legs and thus defines an angle which is greater than zero degrees in relation to the other leg. The point of engagement with the edge of the beam flange is preferably located at a distance from the upper surface of the beam which is greater than half the thickness of the flange. A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accom¬ panying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wedge-shaped beam attachment seen from above and from one short end of the attachment; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the beam attachment as seen obliquely from beneath and from the other short end of the attachment; Figure 3 is a sectional view of a beam onto which the beam attachment shall be anchored, and also shows the beam attachment; and Figure 4 is a vertical view of the beam attachment as seen from one short end thereof. Like elements are identified by like reference numer¬ als in the various Figures. The drawings illustrate a beam anchoring device in the form of a wedge-shaped beam attachment 10 which is intended to be anchored onto an I-beam 2 comprising a web 4, an upper flange 6 and a lower flange 8. As will best be seen from Figure 4, the beam attachment in- eludes a short first leg 12 and a long, second leg 14, said legs being mutually joined to define an angle therebetween. Each of the outer extremities of the legs is bent to a respective predetermined angle β and the γ, thereby to form an angled collar 16 and an abutment spring 18 respectively. The angle α and the angle β are preferably 90 degrees, whereas the angle γ will preferably have values within the range of 70 to 75 degrees. This configuration results in a rounded knee 20 on the outer end of the leg 14. A slot 22 extends generally at right angles from the knee 20 to roughly midway along the leg and, seen transversely, is located in the centre part of the leg 14. The slot is configured so that a locking device in the form of a wedge 23 is able to move freely therealong between two limit positions. The wedge includes a hammer plate 24, two side edges 25, 26, a wedge tip or apex 27 and a lock- ing pin 28. The limit positions are determined in one direction by the hammer plate 24 and in the other direction by the locking point 28. The edges 25 and 26 of the wedge, the hammer plate 24 and the wedge apex 27 define therebetween two mutually parallel, flat side surfaces. The hammer plate 24 is preferably arranged at right angles to the side surfaces, and the two side edges are also preferably arranged at right angles to the side surfaces and converge mutually in a direction away from the hammer plate 24 and towards the wedge apex 27. The converging angle assumes values of between 12 to 14 degrees. The locking pin 28 pro¬ jects through the apex 27 defining the parallel side sur-faces, essentially at right angles thereto, through a predetermined distance on both sides of the wedge apex, which is given an arcuate, preferably circular-arcuate transition between the two side edges 25 and 26. When fitting the attachment, the short leg 12 provided with the angled collar 16 is first fitted over one side edge of the beam flange 6. The attachment is then positioned so that the long leg will abut parallel with the outer surface of the flange 6. Subsequent to having fitted the attachment in position on the beam, the wedge 23 is driven down so as to be pressed against the other side edge of the flange and to be guided in towards said edge as a result of the spring action of the abutment spring 18. Due to the structur- al configuration of the wedge and the abutment spring, the pressure force will act on the edge bordering the under surface of the flange and is directed obliquely upwards towards the long leg 14. In this way, the wedge and the abutment spring will act as a second, releasable angled collar and therewith lock the at¬ tachment firmly to said edge. The spring properties of the abutment spring 18 ensure that the attachment is firmly locked without needing to adjust the attach¬ ment, even if changes in dimension occur with time, for instance in the case of a wooden beam. When wish¬ ing to remove the attachment, the wedge is loosened by driving the wedge upwards, e.g. by hammering the plate 24 from beneath with the aid of a suitable tool, or by gripping the plate and drawing the wedge upwards, for instance with the aid of a crowbar, carpenter's hammer or like clawed tool. The inventive attachment finds many areas of use within the building industry, for instance as a means for anchoring guard railing posts on both horizontal and vertical beams. The inventive attachment can also be used for securing a so-called stop-end, i.e. an edge stop in concrete casting processes, or for fitting together two mutual¬ ly crossing beams, wherein two attachments are used with the outer sides of the attachments joined togeth¬ er. When casting concrete floors, the attachment can be used to mount a beam on a form-supporting prop or shore. The inventive attachment or anchoring device can also be used to fit beams onto suspended scaf¬ folding or to suspended scaffolding bracket struc¬ tures, wherein the requisite number of anchoring devices are secured to the bracket structure with the aid of screws or welds. The reverse is also possible, i.e. the anchorage device can be used to anchor a suspended scaffolding or its bracket structures to both horizontal and vertical beams, wherein each anchoring device is, for instance, welded in relevant positions to the upper end of each of the suspended scaffolding bracket structures. When building a wall, several beams are joined together with the aid of a so-called beam tie, wherein the anchoring devices are fitted at predetermined distances apart, in a known manner, with respective outer surfaces turned towards the beam tie. When applicable, the bent profiled section, which forms the attachment or anchorage, has a varying length and the device includes two or more wedges, depending on the anchoring force required, or to adapt the device to the size of different building or construction elements. It will be understood that the present invention is not restricted to the aforedescribed exemplifying embodiment thereof, and that the invention includes all the embodiments and equivalent solutions that lie within the scope of the following Claims.

Claims: Claims 1. A device for anchoring beams, to one another or to other structural elements, comprising a beam attach- ment which can be fitted in any selected position on at least one of the beams and which has a generally U- shaped configuration so as to be able to straddle the beam when fitted thereon, and which attachment in¬ cludes a first leg, a second leg and an angled collar, said legs extending generally at right angles to one another and the outer extremities of each of said legs being bent at a respective predetermined angle α and β, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the angled collar (16) is formed on one of the legs (12, 14); in that a locking device (23) is mounted in a slot (22) in the other leg (12, 14); in that when the attachment (10) is fitted in position, the locking device can be moved towards and away from a position in which the mutually opposing sides (25, 26) of the locking device (23) abut directly with one side of the beam (2) and also abut solely the bent outer end of the other leg (12, 14), said bent outer end forming an abutment spring (18); in that when the attachment is fitted, the first leg (12, 14) abuts an opposing side of the beam at the same time as the angled collar (16) abuts a side of the beam remote from the slot (22) in said other leg (12, 14); in that the pressure force exerted by the locking device (23) on the beam (2) acts on the beam in a direction towards the joining line between the two legs, depending on the configuration of the locking device, the length of the abutment spring (18) and the value of the angle γ; in that the direction in which said force acts defines an angle which is greater than zero degrees in relation to the other leg (12, 14); and in that, in this way, the locking device (23) and the abutment spring (18) together act as a second removable angled collar by means of which the beam attachment can be locked securely to the beam in coaction with the first angled collar (16) . 2. A device according to Claim 1, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the beam (2) is an I-beam; and in that the point of engagement of the pressure force with an edge of a beam flange is spaced from the outer surface of the beam flange by a distance corresponding to at least half the width of the flange. 3. A device according to Claim l or 2, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the locking device is a wedge (23) whose side edges (25, 26) converge towards one another in a direction away from a hammer plate (24) towards a wedge apex (27). 4. A device according to Claim 3, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the converging angle assumes values in the range of 10 to 15 degrees. 5. A device according to any one Claims 1-4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the angle β is 90 degrees; and in that the angle γ assumes values in the range of 65-80 degrees.

Inventors: REINKLOU LARS ANDERS, REINKLOU, LARS, ANDERS
Applicants: REINKLOU INNOVATION AB
Application year: 1993
Main classification: E04B1
IPC codes: E04B1