Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02314670 2000-07-26
CLAMPING CONNECTOR
The present invention relates to a connector and particularly to a clamping
connector
suitable for mounting a wood structure to a metal post.
Prior art connecting devices are known which will connect a wood structure to
a post.
When building a fence, for example, one typically sets a wood post into the
ground or
mounts a wood structure to a metal post which is set into the ground and then
mounts
fence rails to the wood post or structure. Fence boards or pickets can then be
mounted
to the fence rails to complete the fence.
Traditionally, to secure a wood structure to a metal, typically steel, post,
it was necessary
to either drill the steel post and place bolts through it and through the wood
structure or
else use a clamp system which required the posts all to be perfectly set to a
uniform
height. Operations such as drilling holes in steel posts and setting steel
posts to a
uniform height is tedious and time-consuming.
In general, wood posts are regarded as an unattractive alternative to the
steel post and
wood structure combination because wood posts have a tendency to crack and
also
deteriorate or rot over an extended period of time. In addition, municipal
regulations may
require that wood fences use steel posts in some circumstances. Steel posts
are smaller
in diameter than an equivalent strength wood post, thereby increasing
convenience of
handling and permitting more posts to be carried in a load. The smaller cross-
section of
the steel posts also requires smaller post holes to be drilled in the ground
thus requiring
less concrete for the fixing thereof. Another advantage of steel posts over
wood posts is
that steel posts may be placed in the holes after the concrete is poured
whereas wooden
posts must be placed before the concrete is poured.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device
which overcomes
these difficulties in the prior art. Another object of the invention is to
provide a device for
more conveniently mounting wooden planks onto metal posts. A further object of
the
present invention is to provide a superior and less time-consuming method of
mounting
wood structures to posts.
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CA 02314670 2001-04-02
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clamping
device for
mounting a wood structure to a post, comprising: an attachment member adapted
for
attachment to a wood structure; a clamping member connected to the attachment
member and adapted for clamping around a post; and securing means for securing
the
clamping member to the post.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method for
mounting a wood structure to a post comprising the steps of: assembling a
clamping
device which includes an attachment member and a clamping member; securing the
attachment member to the wood structure; digging or drilling a hole into the
ground;
pouring concrete into the hole; seating the post into the concrete; sliding
the clamping
device over the post; preliminarily tightening the clamping member to
establish the wood
structure in a temporary position; loosening the clamping member to move the
wood
structure to a final position; and durably tightening the clamping member to
fix the wood
structure in the final position.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
fence
comprising: a plurality of mutually spaced posts seated in the ground;
clamping devices
each having an attachment member and a clamping member associated therewith,
each
clamping member being securely clamped to a respective post; wood structures
each
secured to a corresponding post by attachment of the respective wood structure
to the
attachment member of the associated clamping device; and fence rails mounted
on the
wood structures and fence pickets mounted to the fence rails.
Thus the present invention facilitates the convenient and expeditious mounting
of wood
structures to posts. In addition, the present device and method permits many
individuals
such as homeowners to undertake projects such as erecting a fence without the
need of
professional assistance or advice.
The present invention will now be further described by way of example with
reference to
the accompanying drawings, in which:
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CA 02314670 2001-04-02
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a top view of the device of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is view of a fence illustrating the use of the device of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a top view of an attaching member forming part of the device of
Figure
1;
Figure 5 is a side view of the attaching member of Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a top view of a clamping member forming part of the device of
Figure
1; and
Figure 7 is a side view of the clamping member of Figure 6.
Similar reference numbers in the different figures refer to similar
components.
With reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3, according to an embodiment of the
present
invention, a clamping device 10 is used to connect a wood structure 12 to a
steel post
14. The clamping device 10 includes an attachment member 20 and a clamping
member
30.
Referring to Figures 1, 4 and 5, the attachment member 20 consists of wings 22
and an
arcuate bridge 24 having legs 25. The attachment member 20 may be secured to
the
wood structure 12 in any conventional manner such as using nails, screws or
bolts. The
attachment member 20 of the present embodiment includes holes 26 provided in
wings
22 to facilitate the use of either nails or screws. Openings 28 are formed in
the bridge 24
for use with clamping member 30 as described below.
Referring to Figures 1, 6 and 7, clamping member 30 consists of an open or
split circular
band 32 having flanged end portions 34. Flange holes 36 are provided in the
end
portions 34. The size of clamping member 30 is such that the diameter of the
circular
band 32, when the flanged end portions 34 are in contact, is slightly smaller
than the
diameter of post 14. This ensures that it is possible to obtain an adequate
clamping
pressure when securing the clamp to the post. When not in use, the diameter of
the
circular band 32 may be larger than the diameter of post 14 when the clamping
member
30 is in an inoperative position. Alternatively, the clamping member 30 may be
made of a
resilient material such as steel or other suitable metal which allows the
circular band to
easily expand to a diameter larger than that of the post.
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CA 02314670 2001-04-02
Although the present embodiment assumes that the post 14 is a cylindrical post
having a
circular cross-section, other configurations of the clamping member 30 are
also possible
to accommodate posts having different cross-sections including oval, square
and
hexagonal cross-sections.
Bolt assembly 40 includes bolt 42, one or more washers 44 and nut 46 for use
in
conjunction with clamping member 30 as described below.
Prior to use, attachment member 20 is assembled by inserting clamping member
30
partially within attachment member 20 as illustrated in Figure 1. Referring to
Figure 1, in
assembly, the open portion of circular band 32 is adjacent the outer surface
of arcuate
bridge 24 of the attachment member 20 and the portion of circular band 32
diametric to
the open portion is located substantially between legs 25 of arcuate bridge
24. The
aperture 38 (see Figure 2) is defined by arcuate bridge 24 of the attachment
member 20
and the diametric portion of circular band 32 as best seen in Figure 2.
Following assembly, the attachment member 20 is secured to a wood structure12
using
a conventional method such as nails, screws or bolts.
Also prior to use, holes (not shown) for the posts 14 are drilled or dug into
the ground.
Steel posts 14 are seated into concrete (not shown) which is poured into the
holes.
According to a feature of the present invention, the posts 14 need not be set
to a
common height.
In use, clamping device 10 is slid over each post 14 by fitting aperture 38
over post 14,
expanding clamping member 30 while doing so if required. According to the
present
embodiment, two clamping devices 10 are used to secure each wood structure 12
to a
post 14 but more than two clamping devices 10 may be used instead. For
example, it is
desirable to use at least three clamping devices 10 if the fence exceeds eight
feet in
height. Each wood structure 12 can be set to approximately the same height and
held in
place by preliminarily tightening the clamping members 30, for instance, by
hand.
To secure the attachment member 20 to a post 14, bolt 42 is passed through
both flange
holes 36 as shown in Figure 6 and washer 44 and nut 46 are used to draw
flanged end
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CA 02314670 2001-04-02
portions 34 towards each other thus decreasing the diameter of circular band
32 and
securely clamping post 14.
Next, the wood structures 12 can be levelled to a common height, using known
methods
such as running a line beside the wood structures 12. The preliminarily
tightened
clamping members 30 can be conveniently loosened to permit the position of
each wood
structure 12 to be adjusted to a final desired height and then the clamping
members 30
can be tightened to a permanently secure but preferably reversible state such
as by the
use of wrenches or power tools.
Referring to Figure 3, to complete a fence, fence rails 16 can now be attached
to wood
structure 12 and fence boards or pickets 18 can be attached to fence rails 16
using
conventional methods.
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