Patent ID: 8122671

Claim:
A joint connection structure comprising: a column having a longest dimension and providing columnar support to a building; a beam having a longest dimension and intersecting with said column to carry load so that said column provides support for said beam; wherein said beam is connected to said column in a moment-resisting connection including a pair of spaced apart gusset plates horizontally sandwiching said column so that said gusset plates extend along opposite sides of and are joined to both said column and said beam; wherein each gusset plate has a length extending generally parallel to the longest dimension of the beam and orthogonal to the longest dimension of the column when the gusset plates are joined to the column and beam, a height extending generally parallel to the longest dimension of the column and orthogonal to the longest dimension of the beam, and a thickness extending generally orthogonal to the length and height of the gusset plate, the thickness having a configured shape in vertical cross section which is non-uniform in the vertical direction such that a thickness of the vertical cross section of the gusset plate varies in the vertical direction, the vertical cross section including a top portion, a bottom portion, and a middle portion between the top and bottom portions, the top portion having a vertical dimension greater than a maximum thickness of the plate and a thickness in vertical cross section that is substantially constant, the thickness of the top portion and a thickness of the bottom portion each being greater than a thickness of the middle portion, the shape of the gusset plates approximating a strain distribution in said pair of gusset plates.