Patent ID: 10253495

Abstract:
A self-adjusting heel joint connector for securing roof structural members, without the need for a conventional birdsmouth cut or toe-nailing. The connector is slideably insertable between a bottom surface of a preset rafter and the top of a supporting wall plate at a heel joint and is capable of self-adjusting to the precise preset rafter pitch. The connector includes a framing member securable to the top of the supporting wall plate, and a support member rotatably coupled to the framing member and freely rotatable about an axis of rotation perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the framing member. The framing member is securable to the angled rafter and an adjacent joist/tie member, as well as to the supporting wall plate, at the heel joint, and the rafter is supported by a substantially flat mating surface of the support member which extends in a direction perpendicular to a vertical leg of the framing member. The connector provides restraint from lateral movement and wind uplift, and provides for full vertical rafter load transfer partly through the framing member vertical leg of the connector and partly through the adjacent joist/tie member directly to the top of the supporting wall plate over a uniform distributed area, while transferring thrust force in the rafter to the adjacent joist/tie member. The support member further provides additional support for dead and live loads, while eliminating the need for a conventional birdsmouth cut at the heel joint.