Patent ID: 8146322

Claim:
A joint connection structure comprising: a column; and a beam supported by said column; a pair of elongate horizontal cover plates arranged in a vertically spaced pair sandwiching therebetween and united with an end part of said beam proximate to said column, and said pair of cover plates also connecting with said column so as to transfer force and strain between said column and said beam, at least one of said pair of cover plates at a distal portion thereof spaced from said column defining a yieldable portion adapted to communicate and distribute strain over a volume of said beam; wherein said yieldable portion comprises a yieldable tongue portion projecting from the cover plate and extending distally along a length dimension of said beam; whereby, during an extreme event effecting cyclic rotational movements of said joint connection structure the at least one of said pair of cover plates is plastically deformed progressively within said distal portion thereof with successive cycles of rotational movement, and said beam is also plastically deformed progressively in said volume thereof.