Patent Publication Number: US-11384533-B2

Title: Corner structure for studded walls

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/521,735, filed Jul. 25, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,822,795, which in incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an improved structured used in the construction of a building wall and, more specifically, to a beveled or rounded corner structure used to construct a studded wall. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Building walls are often made using upright studs. This technique is common for both residential and business uses. Studs are typically formed from wood or metal, although other materials may be used. Studs usually extend from a base or sill plate at the bottom of the erected wall to a top plate near the top of the erected wall. Studs may be anchored in various fashions, such as using screws, nails, or other fasteners, at both the top (i.e., to the top plate) and the bottom (i.e., to the sill plate). Most building techniques using studs space the vertically oriented studs at regular intervals, such as every sixteen inches or two feet as measured from the center of the stud. A stud will usually be provided at the terminal end of each row of studs even if the regular spacing of studs would not yet require one, as a terminal stud makes adjoining a row of studs to another row of studs easier and more reliable. A material such as drywall may then be fastened to the studs to provide a surface for the wall. 
     In such traditional studded construction, corners are typically formed as a right angle as measured from either side of the wall. Often, this is accomplished by abutting the end of one row of studs against the face of another row of studs. This technique is simple to implement, as no mitered cuts or special materials are required. However, this approach can lead to a sloppy and/or imperfectly square corner if one or both rows of studs are too long or too short. 
     While square corners are typical in construction, they are not the only corner construction technique. Often, square corners are not desirable. For example, when the point of a square corner protrudes into a high traffic area such as a hallway, the right angle of the corner can impede traffic flow. Further, the point of the corner can be damaged by people or equipment passing it. In these and other examples where a square corner is not desired, another corner shape such as a beveled or round corner may be constructed. 
     A beveled corner usually adds a very short stud row, perhaps with only one or two studs, that meets to other two stud rows in non-right corners. For example, a first stud row may meet a short stud row at a forty-five-degree interior angle, and the short stud row may then meet a second stud row at a forty-five-degree angle. The resulting corner may have a relatively long beveled face on the outside of the corner and a relatively short, parallel beveled face on the inside of the corner. A rounded corner may be formed by arranging a series of studs in an arcuate arrangement at the intersection of two adjoining walls, and then wrapping a flexible material such as thin sheathing or drywall about the inside and outside of the arcuately arranged studs, resulting in a corner that has a rounded, concave face on the inside of the corner and a rounded, convex face on the outside of the corner, with the outside rounded face having a greater radius of curvature than the inside face. Such construction techniques require highly skilled workers with training and tools to create the necessary connections. Further, any corner beveled or rounded in this manner inherently wastes materials, a fact that may be insignificant for a single corner but that can be significant for a large construction project involving tens or even hundreds of corners. 
     A further problem with traditional beveled or rounded corners is that while such configurations may be beneficial on the outside face of the resulting corner, the internal face of the beveled or rounded corner is usually impractical for the room on that side of the resulting wall. For example, furniture can often be fit into a room with square corners with relative ease, but the space within the interior of a beveled or rounded corner is apt to go to waste. 
     Thus, there remains a need for a building wall, and more particularly a corner assembly of a building wall, that overcomes one or more of the drawbacks of traditional construction, discussed above. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The instant invention is generally directed to a corner structure for studded walls that overcomes the deficiencies of the traditional studded walls discussed above. The present invention does so by providing systems and methods for creating stud walls with a rounded or arcuate surface on the outer side of a corner joint and a squared corner on the inside of the corner joint. The rounded or arcuate surface presented on the outside of the corner joint is conducive for traffic flow, reduces the damage that may be expected to occur through wear and tear in comparison to a pointed square corner, and creates additional floor space where a square corner would otherwise have been formed. On the interior side of the corner joint, an efficient and usable square corner is presented. 
     More particularly, some embodiments of the instant invention are directed to a pair of brackets used to construct a corner joint joining a first studded wall to a second studded wall. The pair of brackets include a first bracket that attaches to an upper end of both the first studded wall and the second studded wall, and a second bracket that attaches to a lower end of both the first studded wall and the second studded wall. When the first studded wall is joined to the second studded wall using the pair of brackets, an interior side of the corner joint includes two interior faces coming together at a right-angled corner, and an exterior side of the corner joint directly opposite the right-angled corner includes a rounded or arcuate exterior face. 
     Other embodiments of the invention are directed to a building wall having a right-angled interior corner and an arcuate exterior corner. The building wall includes a first studded wall extending in a first direction and a second studded wall extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Each wall includes a horizontally extending top plate and sill plate and a plurality of vertically extending studs extending between the first top plate and the first sill plate. A pair of corner brackets as described above join the first studded wall to the second studded wall to form the right-angled interior corner and an arcuate exterior face. 
     Still other embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of constructing a building wall having a right-angled interior corner and an arcuate exterior corner. The method includes constructing a first studded wall extending in a first direction and constructing a second studded wall extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The method further includes joining the first studded wall to the second studded wall using a pair of corner brackets forming a corner joint such that an interior side of the corner joint includes two interior faces coming together at the right-angled interior corner and an exterior side of the corner joint directly opposite the right-angled interior corner includes an arcuate exterior face. 
     These and other features will be discussed in more detail in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a prior-art corner assembly used in traditional construction of building walls; 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the corner assembly shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of a corner assembly according to one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a rear perspective view of the corner assembly shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a top perspective view of the corner assembly shown in  FIGS. 3-4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the corner assembly shown in  FIGS. 3-5  and further schematically showing a reduced footprint achieved according to aspects of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  is front perspective view of a studded building wall employing the corner assembly shown in  FIGS. 3-6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a front perspective view of a finished building wall employing the corner assembly shown in  FIGS. 3-7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a top perspective view of a corner bracket used to create the structures shown in  FIGS. 3-8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a bottom perspective view of the corner bracket shown in  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a top perspective view of a corner bracket used to create a rounded exterior corner according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 12  is a bottom perspective view of the corner bracket shown in  FIG. 11 ; and 
         FIG. 13  is a front perspective view of a finished building wall employing the brackets shown in  FIGS. 11-12 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     At a high level, the subject matter of this application generally relates to a building wall with an improved corner structure, corner brackets used to construct the same, and methods of constructing the same. This will be more readily understood with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIGS. 1-2  show a prior-art corner assembly  100  traditionally employed when framing a corner joint  118  in a studded building wall. The corner assembly  100  includes a first wall  102  and a second wall  104  extending perpendicular to one another and meeting and abutting one another at the corner joint  118 . The first wall  102  includes a horizontally extending top plate  106  and sill plate  108 , with a plurality of vertically extending studs  110  extending therebetween. Similarly, the second wall  104  includes a horizontally extending top plate  112  and sill plate  114  with a plurality of vertically extending studs  116  extending therebetween. The top plates  106 ,  112 , sill plates  108 ,  114 , and studs  110 ,  116  may be constructed using any suitable construction materials such as, e.g., dimensional lumber (e.g., 2×4 or 2×6 studs), galvanized steel studs having similar dimensions as wood studs and corresponding galvanized steel track, or any other desired material. 
     As best seen in  FIG. 2 , the walls  102 ,  104  abut each other at the corner joint  118  forming a first right angle  120  on an interior wall  121  and forming a second, offset right angle  122  at the exterior wall  123 . As used herein, “interior” refers to a space enclosed by two adjoining walls, and “exterior” refers to a space on the opposite side of the adjoining walls from the interior. Because this traditional corner joint  118  includes the two offset, right angles  120 ,  122 , the corner assembly  100  results in an exterior wall  123  having a sharp corner protruding into the exterior space. Put another way, the exterior angle  124  formed by the abutting walls  102 ,  104  is 270 degrees. The exterior corner  125  formed by this corner joint  118  may impede traffic flow in the exterior space, can be easily damaged by people or equipment passing by it, and may be undesirable from an aesthetic standpoint. 
     Some embodiments of the invention are directed to an improved corner assembly that eliminates the undesirable right angle at the exterior wall, but which maintains the right angle on the interior wall. This will be more readily understood with reference to  FIGS. 3-12 . More particularly,  FIGS. 3-10  show a first embodiment of the invention in which a beveled exterior face is formed opposite a right-angle interior corner, while  FIGS. 11-12  show a second embodiment of the invention in which a rounded or arcuate exterior face is formed opposite a right-angle interior corner. 
     First,  FIGS. 3-5  show a corner assembly  200  according to some aspects of the invention. The corner assembly  200  includes a portion of a first wall  202  extending in a first direction and a portion of a second wall  204  extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The first and second walls  202 ,  204  are joined together at corner joint  218 . Like the walls  102  and  104  discussed above, the walls  202  and  204  include a plurality of spaced apart, vertically extending studs  210 ,  216 , extending between top and sill plates. More particularly, the first wall  202  (more of which is shown in  FIG. 7 ) includes a horizontally extending top plate  314  and sill plate  318 , with a plurality of vertically extending studs  210  extending therebetween. Similarly, the second wall  204  includes a horizontally extending top plate  316  and sill plate  320  with a plurality of vertically extending studs  216  extending therebetween. Again, the top plates  314 ,  316 , sill plates  318 ,  320 , and studs  210 ,  216  may be constructed using any suitable construction materials such as, e.g., dimensional lumber (e.g., 2×4 or 2×6 studs) or galvanized steel studs and corresponding galvanized steel track. In other embodiments, different size dimensional lumber, steel studs, or other suitable building material may be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention. Moreover, the vertical height of walls  202 ,  204  (and thus corner assembly  200 ) will vary according the application, and thus the walls  202 ,  204  and corner assembly  200  can be of any vertical height without departing from the scope of this invention. For example, the walls  202 ,  204  and corner assembly  200  may be configured and sized such that a resulting finished space bounded by the walls  202 ,  204  has eight-foot, nine-foot, ten-foot, eleven-foot, twelve-foot, or even higher ceilings. 
     The corner assembly  200  includes a top bracket  206  and an opposing bottom bracket  208  that joins the perpendicularly extending first wall  202  and second wall  204  resulting in a corner joint  218  having a right-angled interior edge  221  and a beveled exterior edge  223  directly opposite to the right-angled interior edge  221 , which will be discussed in more detail below. The brackets  206 ,  208  may be constructed using any suitable material and, in some embodiments, may be formed from metal and configured to be used with metal or wooden studs. In some examples, the brackets  206 ,  208  may be formed from a 20-gauge sheet of metal cut and folded to the desired size and shape. Preferably, the brackets  206 ,  208  are each formed from a single piece of sheet metal, which is stamped, folded, welded, or otherwise molded into the shape shown in the figures. In this regard, the corner assembly  200  is essentially a portion of a building wall bounded on top and bottom by a solid, integral top bracket  206  and bottom bracket  208 , respectively, which result in a right-angled interior corner and beveled exterior face, as will become more apparent in light of the following discussion. 
     The top bracket  206  (best seen in  FIGS. 9-10 ) includes a first track  220  and a second track  230 . The tracks  220 ,  230  have a generally quadrilateral footprint ( FIG. 6 ) and extend perpendicular to each other, corresponding to the direction of extension of the walls  202 ,  204 . More particularly, the first track  220  is generally quadrilateral in plan view with the outer bounds formed by a first interior edge  222 , a first exterior edge  224 , a second exterior edge  226 , and a first end  228 . The second track  230 , similarly, is generally quadrilateral in plan view with the outer bounds formed by a second interior edge  232 , a third exterior edge  234 , a fourth exterior edge  236 , and a second end  238 . The first and second interior edges  222 ,  232  together define an interior, right-angled interior edge  221 , while the first, second, third, and fourth exterior edges  224 ,  226 ,  234 ,  236  together define a beveled exterior edge  223 . 
     Extending downward—i.e., towards the bottom bracket  208 —from the right-angled interior edge  221  and perpendicular thereto is a first lip  240 , and extending downward from the beveled exterior edge  223  and perpendicular thereto is a second lip  242 . The first and second lips  240 ,  242  are configured to surround at attach to the terminal ends of the studs  210 ,  216  disposed between the brackets  206 ,  208  and/or to portions of the corresponding top plates  314 ,  316  and sill plates  318 ,  320  ( FIG. 7 ) disposed between the brackets  206 ,  208 . The bottom bracket  208  opposes the top bracket  206  on a bottom side of the walls  202 ,  204 , and is a mirror image of the first bracket  206  (i.e., the bracket  208  is configured with the lips thereof extending upward rather than downward). Thus, the individual components of bracket  208  will not be discussed in detail. 
     As best seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , when constructing the corner assembly  200  the brackets  206 ,  208  are arranged such the lips of each extend towards one another with the studs  210 ,  216  extending therebetween and fastened in place. More particularly, in the embodiment shown, the corner assembly includes two studs  210   a ,  210   b  provided beneath the first track  220 , and two studs  216   a ,  216   b  provided beneath the second track  230 . In other embodiments, the corner assembly  200  may include more or less studs  210 ,  216  below each track  220 ,  230  without departing from the scope of the invention. With respect to the first wall  202 , a terminal stud  210   a  is provided proximate one end of first exterior edge  224 , while a second stud  210   b  is provided proximate an opposite end of the first exterior edge  224 . Similarly, for the second wall  204 , a terminal stud  216   a  is provided proximate one end of third exterior edge  234 , while a second stud  216   b  is provided proximate an opposite end of the third exterior edge  234 . The first lip  240  of the top bracket  206  is in turn fastened (i.e., screwed, bolted, nailed, glued, etc.) to the upper ends of the studs  210 ,  216  on an interior side thereof, while the second lip  240  of the top bracket  206  is fastened to the upper ends of the studs  210 ,  216  on an exterior side thereof. Lower ends of the studs  210 ,  216  are similarly fastened to lips of the bottom bracket  208 . Moreover, in some embodiments the studs  210 ,  216  forming the corner assembly  200  may extend between a top plate, such as plates  314  and  316  in  FIG. 7 , and a sill plate, such as plates  318  and  320  in  FIG. 7 . In such embodiments, the lips  240 ,  242  of the brackets  206 ,  208  would thus surround and fasten to the top plates  314 ,  316  and sill plates  318 ,  320 , respectively, rather than or in addition to the studs  210 ,  216  themselves. In some embodiments, a corner support  217  may also extend between the two brackets  206 ,  208 . The corner support  217  is a ninety-degree channel extending between (and affixed to) a location on the top bracket  206  near the corner  245 , and a similar location on the bottom bracket  208 , which provides additional rigidity to the corner assembly  200  and provides a surface for fastening drywall or the like. 
     In the depicted examples the studs  210  have the same thickness as the studs  216 . As used herein, “thickness” refers to a dimension extending from the interior side to the exterior side of the described feature, as depicted by the dimension labeled “t” in  FIG. 6 . Because the studs  210  and studs  216  have the same thickness, a thickness of the first track  220  (i.e., a dimension corresponding to the first end  228 ) is the same size as a thickness of the second track  230  (i.e., a dimension corresponding to the second end  238 ). However, in other embodiments the first track  220  and the second track  230  may be sized to receive studs of different thicknesses, thereby advantageously allowing different thicknesses of walls to be joined using the brackets  206 ,  208 . In many examples, however, both the plurality of first studs  210  and the plurality of second studs  216  may be made either of 2×4 dimensional lumber or metal studs of an equivalent size. As should be appreciated, while the “2×4” descriptor is based upon the unfinished dimension of a board two inches think and four inches wide, after planing such lumber has a smaller dimension; namely, 3.5 inches. Accordingly, both the first track  220  and the second track  230  may have a thickness of approximately 3.5 inches or slightly larger when configured to receive 2×4 studs, although other dimensions can be implemented to receive different dimensions of stud rows without departing from the scope of this invention. Moreover, the brackets  206 ,  208  may provide enough linear length of both the first track  220  and the second track  230  to securely receive and retain a stud row, such as that comprising the first wall  202  and the second wall  204 . For example, the first exterior edge  224  and the third exterior edge  234  may be approximately 4 inches. 
     Some of the benefits of the corner joint  218  formed by using brackets  206 ,  208  may be more readily understood with reference to  FIG. 6 , which shows the footprint of the corner assembly  200  formed using the brackets  206 ,  208 . The resulting corner joint  218  includes an interior edge  221  that forms a right angle  244  at corner  245 , similar to how the interior wall  121  of the prior art corner joint  118  forms the right angle  120 . However, unlike the prior art corner joint  118 , the corner joint  218  does not include an offset, right angle on the exterior wall. Instead, corner joint  218  forms a beveled exterior edge  223  defined by the first, second, third, and fourth exterior edges  224 ,  226 ,  234 ,  236 . Thus, the resulting face of a wall formed by attaching drywall or the like to the exterior beveled edge  223  directly opposite the interior right angle  244  (i.e., beveled face  404  in  FIG. 8 ) does not include an offset right angle—or, put another way, the beveled face forms a 180-degree external angle  246 , as compared to the 270-degree external angle  124  formed by the prior art corner joint  118 . The beveled corners  258 ,  260 , in turn, each form a 225-degree external angle  248 ,  252 , respectively (or, when viewed from the interior side, 135-degree angles  250 ,  254 , respectively). 
     This beveled exterior edge  223  and resulting 225-degree angle portions  248 ,  252  at corners  258 ,  260  provides for a less severely angled exterior corner as compared to the 270-degree angle portion  124  formed by the prior art corner assembly  100 , which in turn improves traffic flow among the other benefits discussed above. Moreover, in comparison to the footprint formed by the prior art corner assembly  100  shown in  FIG. 2 , the corner assembly  200  does not extend as far into the exterior space taking up less square footage that the prior art corner assembly  100 . This is schematically illustrated by the cross-hatched reduced footprint  256  shown in  FIG. 6 . As should be appreciated, for walls having a thickness t as shown in  FIG. 6 , the area of the reduced footprint  256  is equal to 2*t 2 . Thus, when the corner assembly  200  is employed on each exterior corner within a building, the usable square footage of the building can be greatly increased—i.e., by 2*t 2  for each corner assembly  200  used. 
       FIGS. 7 and 8  show an unfinished wall  300  and a finished wall  400 , respectively, implementing the improved corner assembly  200  described in detail above. First, the unfished wall  300  generally includes a first wall  202  including a plurality of vertically extending studs  210  extending between a top plate  314  and a sill plate  318 , and a second wall  204  including a plurality of vertically extending studs  216  extending between a top plate  316  and a sill plate  320 . The walls  202 ,  204  extend perpendicular to each other are joined using the top bracket  206  and bottom bracket  208 , forming the corner assembly  200  described above. More particularly, the lips  240 ,  242  of the top bracket  206  surround a portion of the top plates  314 ,  316  and are fastened thereto and/or to the upper portions of the terminal studs  210   a ,  216   a , while the lips  240 ,  242  of the bottom bracket  206  surround a portion of the sill plates  318 ,  320  and are fastened thereto and/or to the lower portions of the terminal studs  210   a ,  216   a . In this embodiment, only one stud  210 ,  216  of each wall  202 ,  204  is provided below each track  220 ,  230  of the top bracket  206 , but, again, in other embodiments more studs  210 ,  216  can be implemented in the corner assembly  200  without departing from the scope of this invention. In this regard, when constructing the wall  300  according to aspects of the invention, a builder can simply frame two approaching, perpendicular studded walls  202 ,  204  that stop short of abutting one another, and in turn join them (or close the gap) using a kit of the two corner brackets  206 ,  208 , forming the corner joint  218  described in detail above. 
     In some embodiments, the wall  300  may include the corner support  217  and/or horizontal strapping or the like, shown in  FIG. 7  as a plurality of horizontally extending exterior face supports  322 . Each exterior face support  322  extends parallel to the exterior beveled edge  223  of the corner joint  218  from a terminal stud  210   a  (i.e., a stud  210   a  closest to the corner joint  218 ) in the first wall  202  to a terminal stud  216   a  in the second wall  204 . In such embodiments, the corner support  217  and/or the plurality of horizontally extending exterior face supports  322  provide attachment points for, e.g., drywall, plywood, wood planks or paneling, or other desired sheathing or wall covering. While such horizontally extending exterior face supports  322  may be expected to be the most convenient to install and use, in some examples vertical strapping or supports extending between the brackets  206 ,  208  may be used in addition to or instead of the horizontally extending exterior face supports  322 . Although in  FIG. 7  only two horizontally extended face supports  322  are shown for illustrative purposes, any desired number of horizontally extended face supports  322  or other strapping (e.g., vertical supports) can be utilized in order to provide adequate surfaces for attaching the desired sheathing without departing from the scope of this invention. For example, in some embodiments, a support  322  may be installed every two feet such that the supports  322  are spaced twenty-four inches apart, center-to-center, in the vertical direction. In other embodiments, the supports may be installed closer or farther apart, if desired. For example, a support  322  may be installed every sixteen inches or one foot such that the supports  322  are spaced sixteen or twelve inches, respectively, apart, center-to-center, in the vertical direction. 
       FIG. 8  shows a finished wall  400  formed by fastening drywall or other suitable material to the wall  300 . In this embodiment, the finished wall  400  includes three exterior faces  402 ,  404 ,  406 . Each face is composed of drywall or the like attached to the vertically extending studs  210 ,  216  and, if equipped, the horizontally extending face supports  322  of the wall  300  shown in  FIG. 7 . Unlike traditional prior art walls, the finished wall  400  includes a beveled exterior face  404  that provides for increased usable square footage at the external corner. As should be appreciated, the interior wall directly opposite the beveled exterior face  404  will still include a right-angled corner, which is useful for, e.g., furniture placement, wall hangings, etc., within the interior space. 
     Turning now to  FIGS. 11-13 , another embodiment of a bracket  506  used to form a corner assembly according to aspects of the invention is shown. An opposing pair of the brackets  506  is used form an improved corner joint by joining perpendicular extending walls in a similar manner as the brackets  206 ,  208  discussed above, but result in a wall having a rounded or arcuate external face rather than a beveled external face. Only a single bracket  506  will be described for ease of discussion, but it should be appreciated that, in a similar vein to the brackets  206 ,  208 , when used to form a corner assembly two brackets  506  will be paired together with the lips  540 ,  542  of each facing each other and with perpendicularly extending walls extending therebetween ( FIG. 13 ). As with brackets  206 ,  208 , the bracket  506  may be constructed using any suitable material and, in some embodiments, may be formed from metal and configured to be used with metal or wooden studs. In some examples, the bracket  506  may be formed from a 20-gauge sheet of metal cut, folded, and/or welded to the desired size and shape. For example, the bracket  506  may be formed from a single piece of sheet metal, which is stamped, folded, welded, or otherwise molded into the shape shown in  FIGS. 11-12 . Or else the bracket  506  may be formed from several pieces of sheet metal cut to a desired shape and then welded together to form the assembly shown in  FIGS. 11-12 . 
     The bracket  506  includes a first track  520  and a second track  530 . The tracks  520 ,  530  extend perpendicular to each other, corresponding to the direction of extension of the walls meeting to form a corner assembly. The first track  520  is generally fin-shaped in plan view. In the context of this disclosure, “fin-shaped” is used to mean an area that is bounded by two, unequal length straight edges coming together at a right angle and a third arcuate edge substantially (but not completely) joining the free distal ends of the two straight edges. The fin-shaped first track  520  is bounded by a first interior edge  522 , a first exterior edge  524 , and a first end  528 . The second track  530 , similarly, is generally fin-shaped in plan view with the outer bounds formed by a second interior edge  532 , a second exterior edge  534 , and a second end  538 . The first and second interior edges  522 ,  532  together define an interior, right-angled interior edge  521 , while the first and second exterior edges  524 ,  534  together define a rounded or arcuate exterior edge  523 . 
     Extending downward from the right-angled interior edge  521  is a first lip  540  and extending downward from the rounded or arcuate exterior edge  523  is a second lip  542 . The first and second lips  540 ,  542  are configured to surround at attach to the terminal ends of studs disposed between a pair of the brackets  506  and/or to portions of the corresponding top plates and sill plates disposed between the pair of brackets  506  in a similar manner as the lips  240 ,  242 , of the beveled corner brackets  206 ,  208  discussed above, and thus the general construction of the two walls joined using the brackets  506  will not be discussed again in detail. In such a configuration, a first bracket  506  used at the top of the corner assembly opposes a second bracket  506  used at the bottom of the corner assembly with the lips of each extending towards the other bracket  506  as discussed above. The lips  540 ,  542  may be continuous or noncontinuous along their respective length. For example, in the depicted embodiment the second lip  542  is continuous along its length while the first lip  540  is comprised of two, noncontinuous sections  540   a ,  540   b , with a first section  540   a  extending from the first interior edge  522  and a second section  540   b  extending from the second interior edge  532 . In the depicted embodiment, each section  540   a ,  540   b  of the lip  540  extends substantially the entire length of the respective edges  522 ,  532  and includes an angled end  541   a ,  541   b  proximate the right-angled corner  518  formed by the bracket  506 . Such embodiments may ease manufacturing, as the lip  540  can be formed by cutting a piece of sheet metal or the like to form the angled ends  541   a ,  541   b  at the cut, and then folding the sections  540   a ,  540   b  ninety-degrees downward from the tracks  520 ,  530  to form the lip  540 . 
     In the depicted embodiment, a thickness of the first track  520  (i.e., a dimension corresponding to the first end  528 ) is the same size as a thickness of the second track  530  (i.e., a dimension corresponding to the second end  538 ). However, in other embodiments the first track  520  and the second track  530  may be sized to receive studs of different thicknesses, thereby advantageously allowing different thicknesses of walls to be joined using the brackets  506 ,  508 . In many examples, however, the studs received within the first track  520  will have the same thickness as the studs received within the second track  530 , which may be, e.g., 2×4 dimensional lumber or metal studs of an equivalent size. Both the first track  520  and the second track  530  may have a thickness of approximately 3.5 inches or slightly larger when configured to receive 2×4 studs, although other dimensions can be implemented to receive different dimensions of stud rows without departing from the scope of this invention. Moreover, the bracket  506  may provide enough linear length of both the first track  520  and the second track  530  to securely receive and retain a stud row. In some embodiments, the first exterior edge  524  and the second exterior edge  534  may have a portion thereof that extends parallel to the first interior edge  522  and second interior edge  532 , respectively, along a sufficient distance (e.g., four inches or more) in order to secure multiple studs within each track  520 ,  530 . In such embodiments, the exterior edge  523  will thus be curved along a majority, but not entirety, of its length. 
     As with the brackets  206 ,  208 , the resulting corner joint  518  formed by the brackets  506  exhibits a reduced footprint, provides improved traffic flow, and has an improved finished appearance as compared to the traditional corner structure shown in  FIGS. 1-2 . More particularly,  FIG. 13  shows a finished wall  600  implementing the brackets  506  to form an improved corner structure at the intersection of two studded walls. Similar to the finished wall  400  discussed in connection with  FIG. 8 , the finished wall  600  includes two studded walls approaching one another at a right angle, the construction of which will not be discussed again in detail. However, when a pair of brackets  506  are used to form the wall  600 , the resulting finished face includes a rounded or arcuate corner formed by the rounded or arcuate exterior edge  523  of the brackets  506 . More particularly, the finished wall  600  includes three exterior faces  602 ,  604 ,  606 . Each face is composed of sheathing such as drywall or the like attached to the vertically extending studs  210 ,  216  and/or horizontally extending face supports. In this embodiment, the horizontal extending supports, when equipped, would be pre-formed in an arcuate configuration having the same radius of curvature as the arcuate extending edges  523  of the brackets  506 . Unlike traditional walls, the finished wall  600  includes a rounded or arcuate exterior face  604  that provides for increased usable square footage at the external corner, improved traffic flow, and increased aesthetics. As should be appreciated, the interior wall directly opposite the rounded or arcuate exterior face  604  will still include a right-angled corner, which is useful for, e.g., furniture placement, wall hangings, etc., within the interior space. 
     From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure. It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Additional objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention.