Bracket manufacturing method
AssigneeAsh & Lacy Holdings Limited
InventorsLaura Helena Evans, Jonathan Evans
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mounting bracket (50) comprises a non-planar structure shaped by bending one or more portions of a planar body, wherein the planar body comprises before it is formed into a planar body a two-dimensionally profiled load-path approximated lower-mass structure. The planar body may be a blank stamped from material sheet or a slice separated from a profiled material block. The two-dimensionally profiled planar body may be iteratively designed using load-path analysis taking account of functional regions and preserve regions. The bracket may be used as load support for wall and roof cladding installations that require a large number of support brackets.
Claims24
A sheet material load-support mounting bracket for at least one of wall cladding, roof cladding, grid support, and twin skin installations, the mounting bracket comprising functional regions comprising a first functional region providing a head end and a second functional region providing a foot end, and a network of beams between the first functional region and the second functional region, the mounting bracket comprising a non-planar structure formed from a planar body of sheet material from which has been bent at least one portion out of a plane of the planar body to provide an angled bracket comprising the head end and the foot end, wherein the mounting bracket comprises a load-path approximated lower-mass structure comprising material along at least one of load-bearing paths and stress-exposed paths, in the form of a network provided by an irregular two-dimensional lattice of beams, wherein the lower-mass structure comprises apertures of irregular shape corresponding to said low-stress regions, as a two-dimensional profile extending across the thickness of, and perpendicularly to, a plane of the planar body.
A method of manufacturing a load support mounting bracket comprising a non-planar structure formed from a planar body, the mounting bracket comprising at least one beam between functional regions for mounting an article to be provided via said mounting bracket to another article or surface to be provided, the method comprising;
- defining a two-dimensional profile comprising a load-path approximated lower-mass structure derived from an analysis of load paths or stress distribution between the functional regions to establish low-stress regions by computational means,
- wherein the two-dimensional profile comprises material along at least one of load-bearing paths and stress-exposed paths in the form of a network of beams, and apertures of irregular shape corresponding to said low-stress regions established by computational means,
- providing a planar body of sheet material,
- incorporating the two-dimensional profile as a body profile that extends across a thickness of, and perendicularly to, a plane of the planar body, and
- carrying out a forming operation on the planar body to form a non-planar structure by bending at least one portion out of a plane of the planar body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.