Patent ID: 7448527

Claim:
An apparatus for interconnecting structural members comprising: a body member having a lateral bore, an upper flat side provided with an upper flat face, a lower flat side provided with a lower flat face on the opposite side of said body member as said upper flat side, and a bore radially extending from said lateral bore, said body member being shaped to fit between adjacent structural members and locate said upper flat face and lower flat face to abut contiguously adjacent to a separate one of said structural members, said upper flat side and said lower flat side each having a pattern of externally facing grooves communicating with said bore; an exothermic material contained in said pattern of grooves, said lateral bore and said radially extending bore; a fuse in said bore configured to produce intense heat at said exothermic material to initiate an exothermic reaction of said exothermic material, said exothermic reaction generating sufficient heat to melt at least some of said body member, exothermic material, and structural members and thereby weld said body member and structural members together.