Resilient construction member, especially a unitary construction member
AssigneeOwens Corning Fiberglas Technology, Inc.
InventorsRalph D. McGrath, John C. Chen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A resiliently flexible construction beam includes a pair of lateral flange portions and a web extending therebetween, preferably, but not necessarily, so as to present a cross-sectional profile corresponding to commonly used construction beam members (e.g., 2″×4″ or 2″×6″). The resilience of the beam helps to attenuate sound transmission through the beam from one lateral member to the other. In particular, in a wall frame, beams according to the present invention are mounted at opposite ends thereof to end plates. In one example, the end plates include slits into which the webs of the beams can be received. The resilient web according to the present invention is conveniently made from a unitary piece of material such as, for example, steel.
Claims6
A wall system comprising:
- at least one beam member comprising first and second spaced apart and elongate flange portions, and a web extending therebetween, wherein at least one of said first and second spaced apart flange portions comprises at least a first subportion extending from said web in a direction skewed with respect to a plane in which said web lies, and a second subportion extending in a direction from a distal edge of said first subportion back towards said web;
- and
- an end plate including, in cross-section, first and second spaced apart feet and a raised central portion extending in a direction opposite to said first and second spaced apart feet, said central portion including at least one slit receiving said web of said at least one beam member therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.