Program and Method for Locating Fasteners
OwnerGeorge D. Antuma, Scott E. Sluiterinventors
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Abstract
A method and system for determining fastener locations at the joints of chord and web members of a roof truss determines an allowable area within which fasteners can be placed at the joints. Fastener locations within the allowable areas are determined, and additional information is associated with each fastener location. The additional information may include a fastener installation parameter than can be compared to a parameter measured during installation of the fastener to determine if the fastener has been properly installed. The fastener locations within the allowable area may be arranged to form a non-linear zig-zag pattern.
Claims33
A method for determining the position of fasteners at joints interconnecting linear structural members forming chords and webs and forming trusses of the type that provide structural support of a roof structure of a building, the method comprising the steps of:
- selecting a threaded fastener of a type having a predetermined size and configuration suitable for the truss to be made;
- acquiring truss information including joint information for joints of a truss to be made, the truss having at least one chord connected to at least one web at a truss joint, wherein the chord and the web each include sidewalls, and wherein portions of the side walls of the chord overlap portions of the side walls of the web at the truss joint, the truss joint information including a minimum required number of fasteners for the truss joint, and an angle between the one chord and the one web;
- defining first and second fastener priority lines extending parallel to one another along portions of the chord in the vicinity of the truss joint, wherein the first and second fastener priority lines of the chord are located on portions of the side wall of the chord that meet predetermined engineering criteria with respect to placement of fasteners of the type selected to form the truss joint;
- defining first and second priority lines extending parallel to one another along portions of the web in the vicinity of the truss joint, wherein the first and second fastener priority lines of the web are located on portions of the side wall of the web that meet predetermined engineering criteria with respect to placement of fasteners of the type selected to form the truss joint;
- wherein the first and second fastener priority lines of the chord intersect the first and second fastener priority lines of the web to define at least a portion of a perimeter of an allowable fastener area within which fasteners can be located to satisfy the predetermined engineering criteria;
- generating a plurality of fastener locations within the allowable fastener area, wherein the fastener locations are spaced apart relative to one another a distance at least as great as a predetermined minimum allowable fastener-to-fastener distance;
- and wherein:
- at least one of the steps is embedded in code that is executed by a processor.
A system for generating data for assembly of roof trusses, comprising:
- a processor;
- a memory subsystem coupled to the processor, the memory subsystem storing information;
- an input device coupled to the processor, the input device receiving input from a user;
- and
- fastener-positioning code that utilizes truss data including the positions of truss members to be assembled in a predefined configuration to form a truss having a plurality of joints interconnecting the truss members, wherein the fastener-positioning code is embodied in the memory subsystem for causing the processor to perform the steps of:
- determining an allowable area at each joint within which fasteners can be located according to predetermined criteria;
- generating a plurality of discrete fastener locations within the area, wherein each fastener location is spaced-apart from adjacent fastener locations by at least a predetermined minimum fastener-to-fastener distance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.