GB2443262A

GB2443262A - Wall restraint

Info

Publication number: GB2443262A
Application number: GB0621403A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Butler
Original assignee: Wincro Metal Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Wincro Metal Industries Ltd
Priority date: 2006-10-27
Filing date: 2006-10-27
Publication date: 2008-04-30
Anticipated expiration: 2026-10-27
Also published as: GB2443262B; GB2443262A9; GB0621403D0

Abstract

A restraint assembly is provided for connecting an upper part of a wall to a supporting structure. The assembly includes a first elongate member 10 adapted for connection to said supporting structure, and a second elongate member 12 for connection to the wall. The first elongate member comprises a length of steel strip 14 of rectangular cross section. The two members may be slidably connected together. So that the two members, in use, do not become separated, the second member 12 has been formed from a steel sheet and has a major length 20 in the form of a hollow body for receiving the length of steel strip 14 of the first member. The second member further comprises a minor portion 24 which may be embedded in mortar between adjacent courses of bricks.

Description

Restraint assembly The invention relates to a restraint assembly, for

example for use in connecting a wall to a supporting structure such as a beam in a ceiling.

When building an internal wall extending upwards from a floor to a ceiling it is advantagr,us to connect the upper portion of the wall to support beams in the ceiling by means of a plurality of resilient restraint assemblies which permit said support beams to move vertically with respect to the wall. In this way, any vertical movements of the ceiling support beams (that is to say the usual deflections under load) are unable to be transferred to the floor beams bellow, but the wall is effectively supported, by said plurality of restraint assemblies, against lateral movement. It is therefore well known to use a restraint assembly having a first elongate member for connection to the support structure and a second elongate member for connection to the wall, the two elongate members being slidably connected together. However, a particular problem when using this type of restraint assembly is that the two members can sometimes fall apart, this not only being a nuisance but sometimes also dangerous.

According to the invention, there is provided a restraint assembly for connecting an upper part of a wall to a supporting structure, the assembly comprising a first elongate member adapted for connection to said supporting structure and including a length of steel strip of rectangular cross section; a second elongate member made of steel sheet and having a major length in the form of an upstanding hollow body for receiving the length of steel strip of the first member, one wall of said major length being Continuous with a shorter length turned through a right angle to be horizontally disposed; said second member having been formed from a steel blank an area of which is to form said one wall of its major length and being flanked by other elongate areas which are to be deformed to constitute the respective side walls of said hollow body and then the wall opposite said one wall, said other elongate areas each being of a width to ensure the interior of the upstanding hollow body being enclosed sufficiently to exclude the ingress of mortar when the assembly is in use. The metal blank will preferably be of relatively light guage material and for this reason, in order to impart some degree of extra strength to the right angle connection between the major length and said shorter length there will preferably be at least one shallow channel section of material pressed out of the plane of the sheet steel of which the member is formed, to extend along an end portion of the major length and to continue some way along the shorter length.

Near an upper end of the area of the steel blank which is to form the one wall referred to there will preferably be formed at least one depression stamped into the blank to produce a raised projection on the opposite surface, the purpose of said raised projection being to produce an interference fit, at the mouth of the cavity within the major length of the second member, for the length of steel strip of the first member.

In order that the invention may be filly understood and readily carried into effect, preferred embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a restraint assembly embodying the invention, Figure 2 is a plan view of a sheet metal blank from which is formed one particular part of the assembly, Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3 -3 in Figure 2 after a forming operation has taken place, Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 in Figure 2, Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 in Figure 2, this having been drawn on a somewhat enlarged scale, and Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating the way in which the restraint assembly will be used.

Referring now to Figure 1, the restraint assembly there illustrated comprises two members, that is to say a first elongate member, generally indicated 10, and a second elongate member, generally indicated 12.

The first member 10 is a length of steel strip of rectangular cross section, the major length 14 of which, as drawn, is an upstanding length which at its upper end is continuous with a shorter length 16 which has been turned through a right angle to be horizontally disposed. The said shorter length has an elongate aperture 18. The second member is formed from a somewhat thinner guage of steel sheet than the steel strip of the first member and has a major length 20 which, as drawn, is an upstanding hollow body the cavity through which is of rectangular cross sectional shape for slidably receiving the major length 14 of the first member. One wall 22 of said major length of the said second member is continuous with a shorter length 24 which has been turned through a right.

angle to be horizontally disposed. In order to impart some degree of extra strength to the right angle connection between the major length and said shorter length 24 there is a shallow channel section 26 of material which has been pressed out of the plane of the sheet steel of which the member is formed to extend along an end portion of the major length 20 and to continue some way along the shorter length 24.

In Figure 2 there is illustrated the shape of a blank of steel sheet material which is used to form the second member just described. As shown, the elongate rectangular area of the blank which is to become the wall 22 is flanked by other elongate rectangular areas 28,28 which, when subsequently deformed as indicated diagrammatically in Figure 3, will constitute the respective side walls and then the wall opposite the wall 22. The areas 28,2 8 are each of a width to ensure that, when deformed, their remote edges will meet (or very nearly meet) to ensure the interior of the cavity in which the major length of the first member is to be received is virtually totally enclosed, that is to say enclosed sufficiently to exclude the ingress of mortar when the assembly is used as will presently be described. The part of the blank which is to form the length 24 is shown to extend downwards in line with the area 22 and the shallow channel section 26 is shown to extend along the centre line of the length 24 and to extend a short distance into the area which is to forn the wall 22. The form of the shallow channel section is illustrated in Figure 4.

Near the upper end of the area of the blank which is to form the wall 22 there are two closely spaced cylidrical depressions 30,30 which have been stamped into the blank in order to raise a pair of projections 32,32 from the opposite surface of the blank as shown in Figure 5. The purpose of said projections is to produce an interferance fit, at the mouth of the cavity within the major length of the second elongate member, for the major length of the first elongate member; the resilience of the areas of material forming the wall opposite the projections is effective in holding the first elongate member in engagement with the projections.

Referring now to Figure 6, this illustrates the manner in which the restraint assembly is used. As shown, the length 24 of the second elongate member has been located beneath one of the uppennost blocks of a wall and the first elongate member has been extended upwards so that its shorter length 16 abuts against a ceiling beam. By virtue of the slight resistance to movement of the major length of the first member within the second member provided by the projections 32,32, the apertured length of the first member will remain in contact with said ceiling beam until the workman concerned can drill a hole in the beam and secure the fixture in position by means of a bolt or other fastening. A further advantage of a restraint assembly embodying the invention is that whenever it is handled, either by holding the first elongate member or the second elongate member, the other member is unlikely to slide away and become detached from the member being held, this being a common nuisance when using conventional restraint assemblies. The novel construction of the second elongate member permits the use of a relatively light guage of sheet steel. The weight of the finished product is therefore kept low and its cost of production, in view of the present high cost of steel, is relatively low.

Various modifications may be made. For example, the upper end of the first elongate member need not necessarily be continuous with a shorter length provided with a hole or slot. It could instead be provided with a notched upper end to adapt it for fitment to a cast-in channel provided in the underside of a ceiling beam. Furthermore, it may be found that the projections at the mouth of the cavity within the major length of the second member are not essential. The resilience of the areas 28,28 which together form the wall opposite the waIl 22, may alone be able to provide the required degree of interference fit for the major length of the first member.

Claims

Claims I A restraint assembly for connecting an upper part of a wall to

a supporting structure, the assembly comprising a first elongate member adapted for connection to said supporting structure and including a length of steel strip of rectangular cross section, a second elongate member made of steel sheet and having a major length in the form of an upstanding hollow body for receiving the length of steel strip of the first member, one wall of said major length being continuous with a shorter length turned through a right angle to be horizontally disposed, said second member having been formed from a steel blank an area of :. which is to form said one wall of its major length and being flanked by other elongate areas which are to be deformed to constitute the respective side walls of said hollow body and then the wall opposite said one wall, said other elongate areas each being of a width to ensure the interior of the upstanding hollow body being enclosed sufficienjly to exclude the ingress of mortar when S...

the assembly is in use.
2. A restraint assembly according to claim 1, in which the metal blank from which the second member has been made is of relatively light gauge material and for this reason, in order to impart some degree of extra strength to the right angle connection between the major length and said shorter length there is at least one shallow channel section of material pressed out of the plane of the sheet steel of which the member has been formed, to extend along an end portion of the major length and to continue some way along the shorter length
3. A restraint assembly according to claim 2, in which near an upper end of the area of the steel blank which is to form the one wall referred to there has bcen formed at least one depression stamped into the blank to produce a raised projection on the opposite surface, the purpose of said raised projection being to produce an interference fit, at the mouth of the cavity within the major length of the second member, for the length of steel strip of the first member.
4. A restraint assembly for connecting an upper part of a wall to a supporting structure, constructed, arranged and adapted to be used substantially as hrereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the S...

* : ::: accompanying drawings *.* * . S...

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