# US 7,743,575 B2 · Joint member

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- Number: US 7,743,575 B2
- Document ID: US7743575B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 11/409,265
- Filed: 2006-04-24
- Published: 2007-11-08
- Granted: 2010-06-29
- Earliest claimed: 2006-04-24
- Assignees: Nichiha Corporation
- Inventors: Hiroshi Ito
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7743575B2

## CPC

- E04F 13/0889: {characterised by the joints between neighbouring elements, e.g. with joint fillings or with tongue and groove connections}
- E04F 19/02: Borders; Finishing strips, e.g. beadings; Light coves (for protecting edges of plaster E04F13/06)
- E04F: FINISHING WORK ON BUILDINGS, e.g. STAIRS, FLOORS (windows, doors E06B)

## Abstract

A joint member capable of forming a joint portion that can be easily constructed and has an excellent design and a high waterproof capacity even if it is manufactured at a low cost. A joint member 1 is composed of a hat joiner 10 and a joint cover 20, and the hat joiner 10 is composed of a base plate 11 to be fastened to the body side of building frame and a convex portion 12 protruding from the base plate 11 to the surface side. The joint cover 20 is provided with a joint groove portion 21 that covers a top surface 12c of the convex portion 12 in the course of construction, and a lower edge portion 23 extending from the lower end of the joint groove portion 21 and brought into contact with the surface of an external wall panel 30B in the course of construction. An elastic water proof material 26 is attached to the rear surface of the lower edge portion 23.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A joint member that is fixed between vertically adjacent external wall panels in an external wall construction for fastening the external wall panels to a side of a building frame by means of a fixture driven from a surface side, the vertically adjacent wall panels comprising an upper external wall panel and a lower external wall panel each having a front face, a rear face, an upper end surface and a lower end surface, the joint member comprising:
a hat joiner and a joint cover;
the joint cover comprising;
a substantially vertical lower edge portion that is brought into contact with the front face of a lower external wall panel in the course of construction, and
a joint groove portion having flat upper and lower plates, the lower plate extends from an upper end of the lower edge portion to the rear face without contacting the upper end surface of the lower external wall panel,
the hat joiner comprises a base plate that serves as a fixed surface to a side of the building frame, and a hat joiner convex part having upper and lower side surfaces, the hat joiner convex part protruding from the base plate to the front face and being sandwiched between the ends of the upper and lower external wall panels in the course of construction;
the joint groove portion is formed into a shape that covers at least a top surface of the hat joiner convex part and the upper end surface of the lower external wall panel with the joint member and the upper and lower external wall panels fastened to each other, and
wherein the upper and lower plates of the joint groove portion are separated by a distance that is less than a distance separating the upper and lower side surfaces of the hat joiner convex part.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The joint member according to claim 1,
wherein an elastic water proof material is attached to a rear surface of the lower edge portion.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The joint member according to claim 1,
wherein the joint groove portion of the joint cover is formed in such a shape as to cover the lower end surface of the upper external wall panel in the state of the joint member and the upper and lower external wall panels being fastened to each other;
the joint cover is provided with an upper edge portion that extends upwardly from the upper end of the joint groove portion and is brought into contact the front face of the upper external wall panel in the course of construction; and
an elastic water proof material is attached to the rear face of the upper edge portion.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The joint member according to claim 1,
wherein the joint groove portion of the joint cover is formed in such a size as to enable part of the joint groove portion to be brought into contact with the top surface of the hat joiner convex portion in the state of the joint member and the upper and lower external wall panels being fastened to each other.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The joint member according to claim 4, wherein the joint groove portion of the joint cover is formed in such a shape as to cover the lower end surface of the upper external wall panel in the state of the joint member and the upper and lower external wall panels being fastened to each other; the joint cover is provided with an upper edge portion that extends from the upper end of the joint groove portion and is brought into contact with the front face of the upper external wall panel in the course of construction; and
an elastic water proof material is attached to the rear face of the upper edge portion.

### Claim 6 (depends on 3)

The joint member according to claim 3,
wherein the hat joiner and the joint cover are respectively formed by the metal sheet processing of a single steel sheet.