Patent ID: 8117788

Claim:
A system for reducing the effects of shear forces on a building structure, comprising: a wall comprising a plurality of vertical studs wherein the wall includes an upper portion and a lower portion and wherein the upper portion of the wall is adjacent the upper portion of the building and the lower portion of the wall is adjacent a foundation of the building; and a shear assembly that fits within a space defined by two adjacent studs positioned laterally along the wall, the upper portion of the wall, and the lower portion of the wall, such that the shear assembly couples the upper portion of the wall to the foundation wherein the shear assembly comprises: a deformable coupling assembly having an upper end and a lower end such that a relative lateral displacement of the upper and lower ends causes a restorable deformation followed by a non-restorable deformation of the deformable coupling assembly, wherein the upper end attaches to the upper portion of the wall in a substantially rigid manner; wherein the deformable coupling assembly being positioned near the upper portion of the wall and an interconnecting assembly being attached to the foundation in a substantially rigid manner provides a relatively short moment arm for the shear force applied to the upper portion of the wall so that the shear force is countered by the deformable coupling assembly before being transmitted to the foundation; wherein the deformable coupling assembly comprises a plurality of plates extending in a direction having a vertical component joined to the upper portion of the wall at a plurality of locations and to the interconnecting assembly at a plurality of locations such that the shear force applied to the upper portion of the wall is transmitted to the plurality of plates in a substantially direct manner; and wherein the plurality of plates are formed by a corrugated member having alternating upper and lower joining plates that join a plurality of vertical plates wherein the upper joining plates and lower joining plates respectively define plurality of joining locations at the upper and lower ends of the deformable coupling assembly; the interconnecting assembly that interconnects the lower end of the deformable coupling assembly to the foundation in a substantially rigid manner such that the deformable coupling assembly couples the upper portion of the wall to the foundation so as to allow energy dissipation by restorable and non-restorable deformation of the deformable coupling assembly in response to a lateral shear force applied to the upper portion of the wall.