GB2495742A - Securing device for a tensioning system for reinforcing trusses in a roof - Google Patents

Abstract

The securing device 60 comprises a pair of securing members 61, 62 which are adapted to co-operate with mating joining members 64, 65 that provide a clamping load between the first and second securing and joining members. The securing members are located, and are preferably permanently fixed by welding, gluing or press fitting, within receiving means in a support member 63 and are spaced apart to prevent the securing members from transposing relative to the support member. The securing and joining members can be nuts and bolts or vice versa. The securing member may be press fit into the receiving means such that the securing means is prevented from rotating relative to the support member. Also claimed are a coupling system 110 and method wherein a perforated strap or band 111 in a tensioning system is attached to either a band or coupling element with similar apertures by using the securing device.

Description

A SECURING MEMBER FOR A TENSIONING SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a securing device for securing a coupling/joining be- tween a first and a second element of a tensioning system where the device corn-prises: a first securing member; a second securing member; where the first and the second securing members are adapted to cooperate with mating joining members for providing a clamping load between the securing members and the joining members; and a support member having receiving means adapted to receive the first and the second securing members at a predetermined distance between the securing mem-bers.

In the construction industry and especially when trusses are used it is a requirement that roofing frames, ceiling and/or wall constructions are acting as stable diaphragms using diagonals of the frames and constructions to provide an increased rigidity of the frame in directions that are different than those directions of the reinforcement beams or crossbeams in the construction. Often, the primary purpose of the reinforcement beams and/or the crossbeams is to provide a structure ensuring that the roofing frame does not collapse under the weight of the roofing material, snow, wind and/or isolation material.

The reinforcement of roofing frames may be achieved by applying tensioned fixing bands between certain coupling points in the roofing frame. This is possible by applying a constant force between the coupling points to provide an increased integrity of the frame by minimising the risk that the frame does disjoint and that the distance between certain parts of the roofing frame does not increase during construction or when the construction is completed.

The fixing bands used to provide a tension connection between two points in a frame are often zinc coated steer bands provided with through-going perforations or holes al-lowing anchoring members or coupling transitions to be coupled to the steel bands.

The anchoring members may be used to provide a securing position to a construction frame, masonry walls, or any part of the construction requiring reinforcement, while the coupling transitions may be used to couple more than one band together having a ten-sioning device between them to ensure that the bands may be tensioned to the optimal specs of the construction.

The tensioning devices are often of the kind having a first and a second end with holes or perforations that match the holes or perforations of the steel bands, where a nut and a bolt are introduced into each of the holes or perforations to secure the first or the second end to the steel band. Often, a tightening mechanism may be arranged be-tween the two ends that may be used to adjust the tension of the coupled steel bands.

A widely recognised problem when connecting the steel bands to the tensioning de- vices is that the user often has to introduce a bolt into each of the holes using a tradi- tional hexagonal nut, which secures the bolt between the band and the tensioning de-vice. This may require considerable effort for the construction worker as the bolts may be relatively small, and the construction worker might have to use a wrench or a span-ner to provide a countermeasure when rotating the nut to the bolt. Furthermore, when the construction site is outside and the weather is cold, the construction worker has to use insulation gloves to ensure that the fingers and the hands do not freeze. It might be quite difficult to handle and manoeuvre the bolts when applying the nut to the bolt.

One system for overcoming these problems may be seen in WO 2007/137583, which discloses a system for rapid joining of perforated bands and perforated band fittings, where a bottom plate with pins, which match the pattern of the holes in the perforated bands, and the bands and the fittings are secured within this system for providing a joining of the perforated bands and fittings.

However, this type of joining system is quite costly during production as the plates and pins are made of steel. The plates have to be folded into their shape, and the pins are welded to the plates in a precise manner for the system to function properly as any im-perfections in the welding of the pins mean that the pins do not match the perforated bands.

According to the invention, there is provided a securing device for securing a cou-pling/joining between a first and a second element of a tensioning system where the device comprises: a first securing member; a second securing member, where the first and the second securing members are adapted to cooperate with mating joining mem-bers for providing a clamping load between the securing members and the joining members; and a support member having receiving means adapted to receive the first and the second securing members at a predetermined distance between the securing members, and wherein the support member fixes the securing member in position pre-venting the securing member from transposing relative to the support member.

By providing a securing device according to the invention, the user, who may often be S a construction worker, can apply more than one securing member at a time when he needs to use securing members to couple two parts of a tensioning system together.

The specification requirements of the tensioning system may require anywhere be-tween 2 and 10 securing members to ensure that the tensioning system is sufficiently stable to apply the necessary tensioning to the system, or in many cases to the ten-sioning bands. In cases where it is necessary to have a tensioning system that requires a relatively low tension, such as when small structures are being erected, it may be enough to have only two securing members coupling the tensioning system together By having a support member that carries the at least two securing members, it is pos- sible to align both members at the same time, instead of first placing one and subse-quently the other, so that the construction worker can reduce the actions necessary to couple parts of the tensioning system together. When more securing members are needed, such as four or five, the support member may be provided with the necessary number, and the mounting actions are reduced significantly.

Furthermore, by having two or more securing members fixed to the support member, it is ensured that when rotational force is applied to the securing members, such as may be the case when the joining member has to be rotated relative to the securing mem-ber1 the joining member will rotate relative to the first securing member as the second securing member, which is fixed to the support member, will prevent the support mem- ber and inevitably the first securing member from rotating as well. Thus, the construc-tion worker does not have to have a tool, such as a wrench or a spanner, to provide the countermeasure to the rotational movement of the joining member.

Yet further, as the securing members may be relatively small items, such as nuts and bolts, the construction worker may have problems holding and manoeuvring the items during installation or applying the securing means for such tensioning systems. Thus, arranging more than one securing member on a support member having a predefined pattern or predefined distance will give the construction worker more surface area to grab onto the securing members, and this will assist him in placing the members in the correct positions. This may be especially advantageous where the construction work is being performed in a cold environment and the construction worker needs to have gloves to protect the fingers and the hands from the cold. The support member will make it easier for the worker to get hold of the securing members, In one embodiment of the invention, the securing device may be a metal band securing device. This means that the securing device is intended primarily for use together with a tensioning system that is made of a metal, such as a zinc coated steel band. Such tensioning system is publicly available and can be obtained e.g. in the Vindtrkbând (Wind Bracing strap) type BAN by Simpson Strong-Tie® A/S in Denmark. The bands may be coupled to a tensioning coupling device Bândspnder (Turnbuckle) type BNSP by Simpson Strong-Tie® A/S in Denmark, as may be seen in the Simpson Strong-Tie catalogue C-DK-2011 on http:Ilwwvv.strongtie.dk/ref.aspx?id=13857. These bands and couplers are provided in various widths and with various predetermined patterns of per-forations or holes used for coupling the bands to other elements.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first and the second joining members may be bolts, and the securing members are matching helical threads in the receiving means.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first and the second securing members may be cylindrical fasteners having a helical thread wherein the joining members may be matching cylindrical fasteners. This means that the cylindrical fasteners are adapted to mate with each other, where one may have an external thread while the matching fas-tener has an internal thread. This means that one may be rotated relative to the other to manoeuvre one of them along a longitudinal axis so that the bands may be clamped between the two fasteners to provide a clamping load.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first and the second securing members, and mating joining members may be bolts and nuts, respectively, or vice versa. This means that the securing member may be a bolt having a head and a threaded body, where the head of the bolt may be fastened to the supporting member in order to fix the bolt in place. For providing the clamping load, the joining member, in the form of a nut, may be attached to the threaded body and rotated so that the nut is brought closer to the head of the nut having a first and a second element arranged between the nut and the head of the bolt. Alternatively, the securing member may be a nut that is fixed to the support member, and the joining member is a bolt that may be screwed into the threads of the nut.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first and the second securing members may be permanently fixed to the support member by welding, gluing or press fitting, or any other means of permanently fixing one object to another.

In one embodiment of the invention, the support member may be adapted to receive securing members of a standardised size. This means that the support member may be adapted in such way that standardised sizes of nuts and bolts may easily be at-tached to the support member so that if a securing member or a joining member is damaged during construction1 t might be possible to replace the damaged member with commercially available items, which may be bought in hardware stores, etc. Fur-thermore, there may be requirements that the first and the second securing members are not of the same size, i.e. that there are different requirements to the load bearing tolerances of the securing members, which means that the first securing member may be larger or smaller than the second securing member. The support member may be adapted to be capable of receiving securing members of the same and/or different sizes.

In one embodiment of the invention, the securing member may be press fit into the re-ceiving means of the support member so that the securing member is prevented from rotating relative to the support member. The press fit may have at least two different functions, firstly to prevent rotation and secondly to maintain the securing member in its correct position. Such a position might be where the securing member engagement axis, such as the threaded body of a bolt, is substantially orthogonal to the plane of the support member so that the first and the second securing members are both main-tamed in parallel positions.

In one embodiment of the invention, the support member may be of a planar material or a sheet metal. This means that the support member may be produced in a material, which may be relatively cheap, and may be stamped or cut out of a sheet of material, whereupon the securing members are fixed to the material. Having a planar material ensures that it may be relatively easy for the constructor to apply the securing member to the supporting member, so that the securing members are aligned with each other.

In one embodiment of the invention, a part of the securing member may have a hex-agonal shape having a first predetermined size, and the receiving means of the support member may have a second predetermined size, wherein the second predetermined size is smafler than the first predetermined size. This means that a hole may be drilled or bored into the material of the supporting member, and the hexagonal part may be pressed into the smaller hole. By doing this, the corners of the hexagonal part may dig into the sides of the circular hole by applying force to the securing member, when it is attached to the supporting member. Thus, the rims of the hexagonal part will prevent the securing member from rotating as there will be a constant stress between the rims and the inner surface of the receiving means or holes in the supporting means.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first and/or the second securing member may provide shear strength along a plane that is parallel to the direction of force applied by a tensioning steel band and/or provides a clamping strength along a plane that is sub-stantially orthogonal to the plane of the shear strength. This means that the securing members and possibly the joining members can apply two types of forces to retain the connection between the first and the second element of the tensioning system. The first type of force is shear force, where the securing member prevents the openings or the holes of the first element and the second element from displacing from each other as the shear strength of the securing member ensures that it does not bend or snap, or shear in the middle. The second type of force may be the clamping force, which en-sures that the surfaces of the first element and the second element are maintained in contact resulting in friction between the first surface and the second surface. Thus, the two types of forces increase the reliability of the tensioning system and provide a re-dundant coupling between the two elements.

In one embodiment of the invention, the joining member may be provided with radial protrusions providing a grip for the user's thumb and finger and allowing the joining member to be rotated along its radial axis using the users fingers. This may be achieved by placing wings or rims onto the joining member, which allows the user to provide more rotational force to joining members than compared to smaller diameter joining members. This alFows the user to attach the securing device to the first and the second element of the tensioning system without the use of tools. This means that when the user is standing at a high point, such as in the roof construction of a building, he does not risk losing any tools as none are required, thereby minimising the risk of hurting his fellow construction workers located at a lower level.

In accordance with the invention, there is further provided a coupling system for me-chanically joining at least; a first element of a tensioning system in the form of a first band having at least two perforations or holes arranged in a predetermined pattern, and at least a second element of a tensioning system, the second element being se- lected from the group of: a second band having at least two perforation or holes ar-ranged in a substantially matching pattern to the predetermined pattern of the first band, and/or a coupling element having at least two perforations or holes arranged in a substantially matching pattern to the predetermined pattern of the first band, wherein a securing device according to any of the claims 1-9 provides a mechanical joining be-tween the first band and the second element.

In one embodiment, the coupling system may be a metal band coupling system and where the first and/or the second band is metal bands.

Further in accordance with the invention, there is provided a method of mechanically joining at least two elements of a tensioning system, comprising the steps of: providing a first element in the form of a first band having at least two perforations or holes ar-ranged in a predetermined pattern, providing a second element, the second element being selected from the group of: a second band having at least two perforations or holes arranged in a substantially matching pattern to the predetermined pattern of the first band, and/or a coupling element having at least two perforations or holes arranged in a substantially matching pattern to the predetermined pattern of the first band, the method further comprising the steps of: aligning the at least two perforations or holes of the first band with the substantially matching pattern of the holes of the second element, providing a securing device according to any of the claims 1-9, aligning the securing device with the aligned two perforations of the first band and the second ele-ment, inserting at least one of the first and the second securing members or the mating joining members into the aligned perforations, arranging the mating joining members and/or at least one of the first and the second securing member to cooperate with their/its counterpart, and providing a clamping load between cooperating securing members and the joining members ensuring that the first band and the second element are secured to each other.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of ex-ample only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a roof construction, Figs-2a and 2b are a perspective view of one embodiment securing device according to the invention, and Figs. 3a and 3b are a perspective view of a second embodiment of a securing device according to the invention.

Fig. I shows a roof construction 1, which forms the frame of the roof for a building con-struction (not shown). The roof construction 1 has a roof support member 2 that bears a significant part of the load of the roof construction 1. The roof support member 2 is often a wooden member or similar located at all corners of the roofing construction if the roof construction has a rectangular shape seen from above. A cross beam 3 is connected from the roof support member 2 to a second roof support member not shown located at a different corner of the roof construction 1.

This roof construction 1 is arranged to have a slanted roof, where the roof surface has an angle that is between being horizontal and vertical. This may be achieved by provid-ing a triangular construction 4, which has a horizontal part 5 and opposing slanting parts 6 and 7. The opposing slanting parts 6 and 7 are connected into a triangular con-struction 4 to provide the support for the surface of the roof.

However, when arranging a plurality of triangular constructions 4 to provide the roof construction and the surface of the roof, it is important to ensure that the triangular parts cannot move in relation to each other and thereby weaken the integrity of the roof construction. In order to ensure that the triangular constructions 4 cannot move away from each other, a number of tensioning bands 8 are stringed between one triangular construction 4 to another triangular construction 4'. The tensioning bands S are an-chored to the triangular construction 4,4' at each end using anchoring members 9 and 10, which may be attached to the triangular construction at different heights so that the tensioning bands 8 are arranged to extend at a diagonal from one triangular construc- tion 4 to the other 4'. However, in order to apply tension to the tensioning bands, a ten-sioning member may be arranged between the two ends of the tensioning band 8.

Fig. 2 shows a tensioning member 20, which may be arranged in a central section of a tensioning band 8 as shown in Fig. 1. The tensioning band is separated into two differ-ent sections, a first section 21 and a second section 22, which may be coupled to the tensioning member 20. The tensioning member 20 has a first end 25 and a second end 26, which may be connected to the first section 21 and second section 22 of the ten-sioning band. The first section 21 and the second section 22 of the band are provided with through-going openings 23 and 24, or holes, which are arranged at a predeter- mined distance from each other, and the first end 25 and the second end 26 of the ten-sioning member 20 have through-going openings 27, 28, which are arranged at the same predetermined distance as on the bands so that the openings may be aligned, and bolts 30,31 and nuts 32,33 may be inserted into the holes to attach the first section 21 and the second section 22 of the bands to the first end 25 and the second end 26 of the tensioning member 20. Subsequently, tension may be applied to the connected bands 21,22 by rotating the connecting member 29, which connects the first end 25 to the second end 26. The ends move either closer to each other or away from each other depending on the direction of rotation of the connecting member 29.

In one embodiment of the present invention as shown in Fig. 3a, the securing device 40, which is arranged to replace the nuts and bolts as shown in Fig. 2, may be provided with a first securing member 41 and a second securing member 42, in this case bolts, which are fixed to a support member 43 at a predetermined distance. This predeter-mined distance may be varied from one member to the other, but advantageously, the distance is adapted according to what the securing member 40 is being used with, such as a tensioning device as shown in Fig. 2. Thereby, the user may hold on to the support member when inserting the bolts into the two openings. By inserting both bolts at the same time, it is ensured that the support member 43 and thus the bolts cannot rotate when the mating joining members 44 and 45, which in this case may be wing nuts, are attached to the bolts 41 and 42 in a rotational lock. As the support member 43 is of a size significantly larger than the dimensions of the heads of the bolts 41, 42, it is easier for the user to grip the support member 43 for inserting the bolts into the open-ings.

It may be understood on the basis of the disclosure of the invention that the use of the securing device is not limited to that of a tensioning device as shown in Fig. 1, but may be used e.g. to connect two separate parts of bands together or any type of coupling device between two sections of band.

Fig. 3b shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention, where the securing device 50 may be provided with a first securing member 51 and a second securing member 52 in the form of nuts that are fixed to the support member 53 at a predeter- mined distance. The nuts 5152 may be embedded in the support member 53. For us-ing the securing device 50, the user grabs the support member and aligns the nuts with the openings of the band and the tensioning member as shown in Fig. 2 and inserts joining members 54, 55 into the openings and connects them to the securing members 51,52. As may be seen in this embodiment, the securing members and the joining members are nuts and bolts, respectively, which is opposite to that of the embodiment shown in Fig. 3a. Thus, when the joining members 54,55 are both inserted into the se-curing members 51,52 and are rotated in order to secure the joining members to the securing members 51,52, the support member 53 ensures that the securing members will provide a counterforce to the rotating movement of the joining members and main-tains the securing members 51,52 in their respective positions.

Figs. 4a and 4b show different embodiments of the securing device 60, 70 according to the invention, where the shape of the support members 63 and 73 is different in com-parison to that of Figs. 3a and 3b. The securing and joining members, 61,62,6464,71,72,74,75 are similar to those of Figs. 3a and Sb and the same princi-ples apply to those in relation to their function.

The support members 63 and 73 are formed of a sheet metal material, where a hole has been bored, drilled or cut into the sheet material. Said hole has a first diameter, and the securing members 61,62,71,72 have a second diameter, which is larger than the first diameter, and are pressed into the hole causing the difference in diameter to hold and fix the securing members inside the hole. As the larger diameter of the secur-ing members 61,62,71,72 ensures that the sides of the securing member press into the inner periphery of the hole, this action may cause a stress in the sheet material. Thus, in order to ensure that the sheet material does not deform due to the stress applied by the securing members, the sheet material may have a shape, where the areas sur-rounding the holes are increased. This means that the width of the sheet material 66,67,76,77 between the inner periphery of the hole and the outer periphery of the support member 63,73 counters the stress of the sheet material and ensures that the material does not deform.

However, as the increased material 66,67,76,77 may limit the placement of two support members 63,73 side by side, or parallel with each other, the outer periphery of the support member 63,73 has been provided with a narrowing 68,78 or a depression in which the width of the sheet material is reduced. The narrowing 68,78 has a shape that matches the increased size of the sheet material 66,67,76,77 surrounding the holes so that two support members may be laid side by side, where they are slightly offset so that they fit each other, similar to engaging teeth in sprockets.

Furthermore, the narrowing 68, 75 may assist the construction worker in gripping the support member, as the narrowing 68,78 and the increased material 66,67,76,77 may give the fingers a referring point on the support member. This means that the user may know the placement of the securing members, without having to look at the securing device and where he may position the securing member into openings without having direct view of the opening and/or the securing device, as he will know the positioning of the securing members relative to the narrowing 6578.

Fig. 5 shows a tensioning device 110, which may be used to connect two sections 111,112 of tensioning bands, where the bands 111112 have a width that is optimised for using two holes or openings for coupling the band to the tensioning device 110. In this example, the openings are arranged side by side in an orthogonal manner in rela- tion to the tensioning bands 111,112, and a securing device 60 according to the inven-tion is inserted into the opening or holes to secure the tensioning device 110 to the bands 111112. Thereafter, the joining members 64,65 are used to provide clamping force on the tensioning device.

Fig. 6 shows a tensioning device 120 similar to that shown in Fig. 5, where the tension-ing bands 121,122 have a narrower width. This means that the two holes of the band, which are aligned with the tensioning device, are arranged parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tensioning device. Thus, the securing device 60 according to the inven-tion may be inserted into the holes so that the securing device is parallel with the band, and the inserted wing nuts 64,65 secure the tensioning device 120 and the bands 121 122 together and provide a clamping force to the tensioning device 120.

Fig. 7 shows a tensioning device 130, where the tensioning bands 131,132 have a width that allows four openings, or holes, to be arranged on the device. Thus, two se-curing devices may be arranged side by side in a serial connection so there are 4 openings in the same row being secured between the tensioning bands 131,132 and the tensioning device 130.

Fig. 8 shows yet another tensioning device 140, where the tensioning bands 141,142 have a width allowing three openings or holes to be arranged across the width of the band. The band is arranged so that you have a repeating pattern of openings, which is three1 two, three, etc., increasing the shearing strength of the band. As you do not have the openings arranged too close to each other, the tensioning device may be provided with two rows of openings that can be aligned with the tensioning band. Thus, two se-curing devices may be positioned side by side, parallel with each other, where one is offset in relation to the other thus ensuring sufficient securing between the tensioning device 140 and the tension bands 141,142.

Fig. 8 shows a tensioning system 150 provided with a first tensioning band 151 and a second 152 tensioning band and two coupling members 153,154, which are connected to the tensioning bands, respectively. These coupling members 153, 154 are provided with through-going openings allowing the coupling members to be e.g. coupled to each other1 or when the coupling members 132 and 154 are arranged at the distal ends of the tensioning system to be coupled to anchors, similar to those shown in Fig. 1, to an-chor the tensioning bands to the construction frame. The coupling members 153, 154 may be secured to the tensioning bands in a similar manner to that of the tensioning system in Fig. 7, where the securing devices are arranged side by side in a parallel manner, where one is offset in relation to the other. The coupling members may be se-cured to e.g. the anchors using a pin 157, which is inserted into the openings 155,157 and secured in position using a split 158.

Claims (1)

1. <claim-text>Claims 1) A securing device for securing a couplingfjoining between a first and a second element of a tensioning system where the device comprises: -a first securing member; -a second securing member, -where the first and the second securing members are adapted to cooperate with mating joining members for providing a clamping load between the secur-ing members and the joining members; and -a support member having receiving means adapted to receive the first and the second securing members at a predetermined distance between the securing members, and -wherein the support member fixes the securing members in position preventing the securing members from transposing relative to the support member.</claim-text> <claim-text>2) A securing device according to claim 1, wherein the securing device is a metal band securing device.</claim-text> <claim-text>3) A securing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first and the second securing members are cylindrical fasteners having a helical thread, and wherein the joining members are matching cylindrical fasteners 4) A securing device according to any of one the preceding claims, wherein the first and the second joining members are bolts, and the securing members are matching helical threads in the receiving means.5) A securing device according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second securing members and mating joining members are bolts and nuts, respectively, or vice versa.6) A securing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first and the second securing members are permanently fixed to the support member by welding, gluing or press fitting.7) A securing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sup-port member is adapted to receive securing members of a standardised size.8) A securing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the se-curing member is press fit into the receiving means of the support member so that the securing member is prevented from rotating relative to the support member.9) A securing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sup-port member is of a metal planar material or a sheet metal.10) A securing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a part of the securing member has a hexagonal shape having a first predetermined size and the receiving means of the support member has a second predetermined size, wherein the second predetermined size is smaller than the first predetermined size.11) A securing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first and/or the second securing member provides a shear strength along a plane that is parallel to the direction of force applied by a tensioning steel band and/or provides a clamping strength along a plane that is substantially orthogonal to the plane of the shear strength.12) A securing device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the join-ing member is provided with radial protrusions providing a grip for the user's thumb and finger and allowing the joining member to be rotated along its radial axis using the user's fingers.13) A coupling system for mechanically joining at least; -a first element of a tensioning system in the form of a first band having at least two perforations or holes arranged in a predetermined pattern, and -at least a second element of a tensioning system, the second element being se-lected from the group of: o a second band having at least two perforation or holes arranged in a substantially matching pattern to the predetermined pattern of the first band, and/or a a coupling element having at least two perforations or holes arranged in a substantially matching pattern to the predetermined pattern of the first band, wherein a securing device according to any of the claims 1-9 provides a mechani-cal joining between the first band and the second element.14) A coupling system according to claim 13, wherein the coupling system is a metal band coupling system and where the first and/or the second band is metal bands.15) A method of mechanically joining at least two elements of a tensioning system, comprising the steps of: -providing a first element in the form of a first band having at least two perforations or holes arranged in a predetermined pattern, -providing a second element, the second element being selected from the group of: o a second band having at least two perforations or holes arranged in a substantially matching pattern to the predetermined pattern of the first band, and/or o a coupling element having at least two perforations or holes arranged in a substantially matching pattern to the predetermined pattern of the first band, the method further comprising the steps of: -aligning the at least two perforations or holes of the first band with the substan-tially matching pattern of the holes of the second element, -providing a securing device according to any of the claims 1-12, -aligning the securing device with the aligned two perforations of the first band and the second element, -inserting at least one of the first and the second securing members or the mating joining members into the aligned perforations, -arrange arranging the mating joining members and/or at least one of the first and the second securing member to cooperate with their/its counterpart, and -providing a clamping load between cooperating securing members and the join-ing members ensuring that the first band and the second element are secured to each other.16) A securing device for securing a coupling/joining between a first and a second element of a tensioning system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.17) A coupling system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.18) A method of mechanically joining at least two elements of a tensioning system substantially as bereinbefore described with reference to or as shown in the accompa-nying drawings.</claim-text>